Around 1,400 people are currently staying in four temporary reception centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) characterizes the situation regarding the accommodation of migrants in BiH as stable.
“However, in recent years, it has been shown that the number of migrants entering or leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina on a regular basis is on the rise. Therefore, more and more people enter the country, but they also leave it very quickly, sometimes staying for less than three days. These are some of the indicators that the number of human traffickers and smugglers who organize their routes and movements is increasing within the network. Migrants don’t stay long, they don’t stay here in the absence of other options, because human traffickers and smugglers have already provided them with opportunities. This is very worrisome, because it shows that traders and smugglers take advantage of the weaknesses of people who are on the move,” the IOM emphasizes, adding that exploitation, abuse and all forms of eventual violence obviously go along with this.
As they say in this organization, which has been active in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the beginning of the migrant crisis, smuggling and human trafficking are the biggest and essential problem at the moment.
“We estimated that, according to the type of security problems of individuals, that about 23% of those we spoke with face serious challenges, from mental health problems to comprehensive security issues. We are trying to solve these problems during their stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” says the IOM.
Increasingly, they say, they are trying to show that migration is part of the solution, especially from the point of view of the demographic gap. Companies are losing their workforce and have to count on a new workforce that matches the needs.
“That is why migrations, in this respect, represent a solution. The skills and talents of people from different climates can represent a solution, a socio-economic solution. Therefore, IOM also tries to advocate a change in awareness that migration is not exclusively a security problem, but as a socio-economic solution or part of the solution. Why do we have to work a lot with the private sector, employers, policy makers who understand the win-win approach to the issue of migration and replace it in a more favorable light, in the light of the socio-economic phenomenon,” they state from this organization.
The latest IOM situational report on the mobility of migrants in BiH, which includes interviewing 609 migrants, shows that they stay in BiH for 32 days on average, that 69% of them traveled by bus and 25% by taxi. As many as 74% of respondents have tried to cross the border with Croatia at least once. About 71% of the respondents stated that they failed because the authorities intercepted them and returned them. Only three respondents stated that they would not try to cross the border again. Respondents used social networks and instant messaging to organize their trips to Western Europe. The most commonly used platforms are WhatsApp, Facebook and Viber.
The survey showed that the majority of respondents from Syria (76%) and Afghanistan (64%) marked Germany as their preferred destination. Moroccan citizens (36%) preferred France as their preferred destination. Furthermore, individuals from Nepal (59%) and Pakistan (57%) listed Italy as their primary choice of destination.
