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In pictures: Bosnia refugees wait to play border crossing ‘game’

Refugees stand in front of the Dom Penzionera building in downtown Bihać, on the banks of the Una River. [Elisa Oddone/Al Jazeera]

By Elisa Oddone

Published On 29 Jan 2021

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About 3,000 refugees and migrants from the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa are stranded in squats and forest camps amid frigid temperatures in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, suffering from respiratory problems and infections, hoping to cross the border with European Union member Croatia soon.

The vast majority interviewed by Al Jazeera said they were waiting for the severe Balkan winter to end before attempting the border crossing again, a journey which they have dubbed “The Game”. For some, it will be their 25th attempt at entering the EU bloc.

As they try to reach Croatia, many refugees and migrants have reported violent pushbacks by Croatian border forces during these attempts.

Some who made it as far into the EU as Italy have faced chain pushbacks across several Balkan countries, eventually landing back in Bosnia.

Many told Al Jazeera they had been living in limbo for about two years.

Since 2016, following the closure of the migration route through Serbia and Hungary, Bosnia has become a hub for those seeking to reach wealthier European countries.

But tensions are growing between locals and refugees.

Suhret Fazlic, mayor of the northern town of Bihać, said his region was alone in taking on a heavy burden, which should instead be shared with other parts of the country.

Nearly 70,000 refugees and migrants have passed through Bosnia since 2018. There are currently some 6,000 people in camps, and more without accommodation.

About 150 refugees including children as young as 13 live amid the ruins of the former Krajina Metal factory, at the entrance of the town of Bihać, near the Croatian border. [Elisa Oddone/Al Jazeera]
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Mohammad Han, 20, is a trained journalist and hails from Afghanistan. 'If life in Afghanistan was good, we would have not come here. I completed my education as a journalist but had to leave because the Taliban and other armed groups wanted to kill me. I am looking for a safe life and a job. We need everything here: food, clothes, medicines.' [Elisa Oddone/Al Jazeera]
Abed (not his real name) from Afghanistan told Al Jazeera he had already tried to cross into Croatia five times but was always pushed back into Bosnia by the Croatian border police. 'Police used violence against me and other people I was travelling with on several occasions.' [Elisa Oddone/Al Jazeera]
A group waits for the distribution of food and clothes in front of the former Krajina Metal factory in Bihać, Bosnia. [Elisa Oddone/Al Jazeera]
Gani, a 40-year-old Afghan, said: 'I hope we will eventually reach Germany. Life is over for me but I want my children to get the opportunity to study and become doctors, engineers and teachers.' Local authorities evicted Gani’s family from this house, moving them to the IOM-run Sedra Temporary Reception Centre Camp for families in the nearby municipality of Cazin. [Elisa Oddone/Al Jazeera]
Three Afghani families occupy the three rooms that make up this abandoned house in Bosnia’s Bosanska Bojna area, on the border with Croatia, waiting to cross into the EU at the arrival of warmer weather. A man, who does not want to be named, told Al Jazeera that he and his daughter had arrived in Bosnia two months ago from Kabul. 'We haven’t tried to cross yet because my daughter cannot walk well at the moment. The weather is too cold. We will wait for warmer weather. We want to reach Germany’s Frankfurt because my wife is already there.' [Elisa Oddone/Al Jazeera]
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A family from Afghanistan returns to the house they occupy in Bosnia’s Bosanska Bojna area after being pushed back from the Croatian border. [Elisa Oddone/Al Jazeera]
A group hailing from Bangladesh lives in a forest in Bosnia’s town of Velika Kladusa, on the border with Croatia. Their makeshift tent camp high in the woods is built of cardboard and tree branches and covered with nylon sheets. [Elisa Oddone/Al Jazeera]
Jalal (not his real name), is a Bangladeshi migrant who decided to remain in the makeshift camp in Velika Kladusa to avoid possible conflicts with other migrants in local reception centres. 'I am on the border here,' he told Al Jazeera. 'I’ve already tried to cross six times. I was beaten up by Croatian border officers, who also took my phone. My sleeping bag was burnt and my money was taken.' [Elisa Oddone/Al Jazeera]
About 35 migrants have died in the Una-Sana region since the start of the migration crisis in 2017, according to official data, but authorities say this number could be much higher. Most recorded deaths were the result of drownings in the Korana and Una rivers and accidents in run-down buildings where migrants find shelter, especially during winter. Unidentified migrants are buried in Bihać’s larger Muslim cemetery, with wooden markers on their tombs. The remains of those who are identified are usually returned to their families in their home countries. [Elisa Oddone/Al Jazeera]