Facts: The Balkan route
In 2015, half a million refugees and other migrants crossed the Balkan countries, including Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. These countries are transit countries for the people whose goal is a better life in richer Western Europe.
After 2015, the EU and national governments have tightened their refugee policies to stem the flow, without managing to stop it completely. The risks for refugees and migrants on the route have increased.
About a third of all migrants and refugees who come to Europe are children.
Source: Save the Children
The report shows that the situation is worse than feared, says Sofia Rönnow Pessah, policy advisor for migration at Save the Children’s European office.
— I react very strongly to the fact that all the children interviewed say they were exposed to violence during their flight. It confirms that violence is extremely present on these types of routes, and perhaps more widespread than previously thought.
A large mix of different types of violence occurs, from perpetrators to whom the children are dependent and unable to defend themselves.
— The most common type of violence that the children told about was physical violence by the border police. And border police and smugglers are people the children have to be in contact with, she says.
Beaten by the border police
The survey was conducted in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in Serbia, in collaboration with the University of Sarajevo. Of the 48 children and young people aged 13-19 who were interviewed in depth over three months at the end of 2021, all told that they had been exposed to some type of violence during the trip, directly or indirectly. On average, the children and young people had been on the run for four years.
“We were arrested by the police. They told us to sit down, and we sat down. Then they picked out two of the group and beat them,” says a 16-year-old boy in the report.
Along the entire Balkan route, children are forcibly removed from the border. Children describe how they have been stripped naked, forced to stand in the cold, given electric shocks and beaten with sticks, resulting in injuries.
Beware of smugglers
In addition to physical violence from the border police, the children who come as migrants or refugees are exposed to violence from people smugglers and their helpers. More than one in three interviewees describes violence on the part of smugglers and their fear of them. Four of the 48 had been kidnapped.
“When the children hiss, or when they don’t listen (to the smugglers), he just hits and hits. They have to be quiet, not disturb and have to respect someone who is older,” a 13-year-old boy tells of a smuggler.
Most of the interviewees were boys traveling alone. It is the group that is most often sexually exploited during the flight, according to the report. The subject is taboo – not a single one of the children says they have been victimized themselves, but almost two-thirds have on at least one occasion seen someone else being victimized.
Many are also used as child labor in countries where they stay for a long time, such as in Turkey after the refugee agreement with the EU in 2016.
“Linked to politics”
The children feel safe in reception centers for refugees as long as they are well organized and the staff do their job. Reception centers in Greece are often perceived as unsafe, with the risk of violence and sexual abuse.
Save the Children sees a connection between migration policy and children’s vulnerability.
— For us, it is very clear that this is part of the lack of legal routes into Europe. Violence is part of the exercise of border control. This applies over the entire Balkan route, says Sofia Rönnow Pessah.
They also want to ensure that the children have the opportunity to deal with their trauma.
— They need school and a safety net during their childhood, wherever they are.