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Description
The project addresses current challenges faced by migrants on the Balkan migrant route, specifically migrants living in Bosnia and Hercegovina in gravely inhuman conditions without basic life necessities. Their basic human rights are violated, increasingly in last months due to winter,Covid-19 and Bosnian internal political turmoil. Migrants put their lives at risk trying to cross the border to Croatia and Slovenia. On their way, they are often mistreated by Croatian police. If they manage to come to Slovenia, there are reports of violation of the international asylum law (often ignoring their right to ask for international protection). From Croatia they are returned to Bosnia. There are reports of migrants losing their lives and those stories often do not get public. This grave situation is partially due to lack of solidarity from the EU. Although Bosnia receives humanitarian help for migrants, there is no effort to find a permanent solution for this crisis. In Slovenia awareness of living conditions of migrants and what they have to endure on their way to Europe, as well as the root causes for their journey, is very limited.
In 50 minutes-long documentary “The game” we will record the testimonies of migrants, how they live, what they have been through, the violation of their rights that they have endured. We shall also accompany a group of migrants on their way from Bosnia to Croatia and Slovenia. We want to show to Slovenian and international community the dangers and hardships that migrants have to endure on this Balkan migrant rout. They have no other solution than to try to illegally cross the green border again and again despite dangers, as staying in Bosnia is not an option.
The target groups: general Slovenian public, media, educators and young people from schools, NGOs in Slovenia, Bosnia and at EU level, as well as the politicians in Slovenia and the EU. The ultimate beneficiaries will be migrants in BiH, on their way to the EU and in Slovenia.
Summary of project results
The main result of the project was a 50 minutes long documentary “The game” that recorded the testimonies of migrants, how do they live, what they have been through, the violation of human rights that they have endured in their way from the country of orgin to their tries to enter EU (Slovenia). The documentary focuses on a group of migrants on their way from Bosnia to Croatia and Slovenia. The documentary was produced by the RTV SLO (public TV station in Slovenia) that has the widest reach to the slovenian population. The documentary is still available at https://www.rtvslo.si/rtv365/arhiv/174776244?s=tv. The project was carried out in partnership with Caritas Slovenia that organized a round table and a debate on the lives of migrants. They had focuse on rising awareness on living conditions of migrants and what they have to endure on their way to Europe and what are the root causes for their journey. The documentary is still being used as a tool for encuraging discussion, raise awarness and comunicate with public on this topic.