SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS OF PUSHBACKS AND INTERNAL VIOLENCE DOCUMENTED BY BVMN DURING THE MONTH OF OCTOBER
In October, the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) shared 35 testimonies of pushbacks impacting 550 people-on-the-move (POM) across the Balkans and Greece. This report brings together first-hand testimonies from a range of countries in the region to look at the way European Union states and other actors are affecting systemic violence towards people crossing borders.
BVMN is a network of watchdog organisations active in the Balkans and Greece including No Name Kitchen, Rigardu, Are You Syrious, Mobile Info Team, InfoKolpa, Centre for Peace Studies, Mare Liberum, Collective Aid, Blindspots, Pushback Alarmphone Austria, I Have Rights and PIC. Combining insights from these different members, this month’s report covers:
– Increase of violence in pushbacks from Romania to Serbia
– Solidarity initiatives in Rijeka
– Changes in visa regimes in Serbia
– Criminalisation of solidarity in Šid
– Shipwrecks in Greece
– Lack of protection for Syrian refugees in Turkey
