Informing The more effective Situation Overview: Tovarnik, REACH humanitarian action 18 September 2015 SITUATION OVERVIEW

INTRODUCTION was collected through Focus Group Discussions Instead, more than 5,000 asylum seekers are and Key Informant Interviews with asylum seekers. estimated to have crossed the border through the The past week saw a rapid increase in the number Due to the transient nature of the groups, the fields on either side of the official Sid-Tovarnik road- of asylum seekers travelling through the Balkans limited time spent together, and the complex and crossing, despite widespread rumours about the to the rest of Europe. In 2015, UNHCR estimates disparate nature of motivations and intentions, there presence of land mines. From here, their aim is to that as of 14 September, Europe has seen 411,567 are limitations on generalizing these issues. The head towards the border with Slovenia. Mediterranean sea arrivals, far exceeding figures for assessed sample is not statistically representative Once in Tovarnik, local authorities attempted to the whole of 2014. Greece alone has seen 288,020 of all those arriving, but interviews were consistent house more than 5,000 asylum seekers in Tovarnik arrivals, with the number increasing daily. Once in enough for trends to be perceived. Greece asylum seekers travel upwards through the station with the intention of transporting them Balkans, many with the hope of reaching destinations onwards to centres where more services could be such as Germany and Sweden. However with the CURRENT CONTEXT provided. However, authorities were overwhelmed daily change in country border controls and the On 15 September, large numbers of asylum seekers increasing number of refugees, displacement routes accumulated in Horgos, , unable to travel are changing at an unprecedented rate. further due to the closure of the Hungarian border. On September 15th REACH sent two teams to As a result, other newcomers gathered in , Greece and the Balkans to collect primary data to awaiting news from those further down the new understand the current displacement routes used proposed route to Austria, via Croatia and Slovenia. by Syrian asylum seekers, as well as the motivating On 17 September, thousands asylum seekers factors both for leaving their country of origin and crossed the Croatian-Serbian border between Sid choosing their target destination. The information and Tovarnik: some by foot, some transported from will compliment findings from ongoing assessments Horgos, and others coming directly from Macedonia, by REACH teams in the Middle East and North Bulgaria and Belgrade. While asylum seekers had African region. understood that this crossing would be open, all This report outlines the findings from an assessment official crossings into Croatia except for the main Asylum seekers boarding the train at Tovarnik just conducted at the Hungarian-Serbian border. Data highway from Batrovci in Serbia, were in fact closed. after midnight by the large number of arrivals, which was far greater The disorganized nature of the entire process has Many had stayed with host families in lower conflict than expected. led to reported incidents of missing children and areas of Syria before leaving the country altogether. split families. Furthermore, aid agencies are finding Around 40% of those included in this study had spent At around 1am on 28 September, one train and it difficult to effectively locate and support the people time in Turkey. several buses began to transport the asylum seekers in need. to destinations that were unknown to them. Due At the beginning of their journeys most asylum to the lack of information, some asylum seekers seekers took the cheaper and less policed route via refused to take the available transport. However, DISPLACEMENT Izmir to the Greek islands rather than the