In 2017, RBB were able to volunteer in, and provide aid to approximately 1200 men and unaccompanied minors at the notorious Belgrade Barrack in Serbia until its eviction and subsequent closure, in three visits to this site.
The Belgrade Barracks was a large abandoned warehouse which was turned into a squat by displaced people travelling the Balkan route. They males who were living there were amongst filth and squalor. There was no showers and no toilets. At night it was extremely dark with a rotten stench. Whether it was winter was summer the weather was extreme in a squat with little protection. Boys and men were at risk of exploitation.
People relayed they were stuck there, unable to go forwards or back, facing border violence whenever they travel and unable to seek asylum where they were. From countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Iraq, many had been forced out of Greece, as they had been rejected on their asylum claims and were hoping to be able to seek asylum elsewhere, passing via Serbia.
As requested by the residents there, on three different aid delivery missions we were able to provide:
- Cricket equipment to boost morale
- Small portions of halal chicken they could cook that day
- Clothes packs including a pair of trousers, a t-shirt, a jumper, a pair of underwear and socks to all residents.
