Summary and analysis of pushbacks and internal violence documented by BVMN during the month of JUly
In July, the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) shared 18 testimonies of pushbacks impacting 273 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 Greece and the Western Balkans including No Name Kitchen, Rigardu, Are You Syrious, Mobile InfoTeam, Push-back Alarm Austria, InfoKolpa, Centre for Peace Studies, BlindSpots, Mare Liberum, and Collective Aid. Combining insights from these different members, this month’s report covers:
- Ongoing pushbacks and border violence along the North Macedonian-Greek border
- Police raids on a large abandoned farm in the vicinity of Horgoš in northern Serbia in which many people-on-the-move found shelter.
- Increases in mass deportations from Turkey to Afghanistan.