The Serbian way of containing refugees and migrants, makes people want to take illegal routes, such as paying smugglers to help them out of Serbia, towards a new country of EU. Therefore, it is rare to see refugees and migrants in the public now.
Above The Mountains from Northern Serbia 2023: Emotionally tracks from experiences described by refugees and migrants, when I meet them, in various countries. The new environment, the unknown territory, the fear of getting abused, harmed, humiliated and dreams, which can feel like they collapse, when not reaching a goal, are some of the mentally and physically, and even spiritually, challenges, which refugees and migrants describe about their route to Europe.
The migration situation in Serbia is more complex than ever. About 3.000 live in official camps, and thousands of refugees and migrants live outside the camps, in informal settlements, or the woods, close to the borders. For them, the situation is more challenging, as you opt out of help from the official offers, i.a. in a reception center at the International Organization for Migration. Since the refugee flow in the early years, for Europe, in the year 2016, you have had to keep people on the run in a firmer grip, so that you as a country, in the Balkans, can maintain an overview. Now, many who are on the run, and at this time, are in Serbia, with the hope of crossing further into Europe, towards a welfare society, through the border routes of Hungary, Croatia/Bosnia and Romania. The challenge of integration in countries where economic challenges with unemployment rates mean that many refugees and migrants take the journey towards the borders, for the hope of a country with more opportunities and dreams that you want to fulfill. For a few, the journey stops in Serbia, where you then travel to your home country, because the family situation in your home country makes you want to go home and protect your family.