Young unaccompanied boys try to keep warm in one of the abandoned warehouses. Burning the railways sleepers makes the air toxic and almost unbreathable. Many have respiratory infections from the smoke.
Wahid Hassan got randomly beaten by some local taxidrivers last night, his friend tells while Wahid tries to dry his teary eyes on the way to the MSF-tent. 30th of January 2017.
A group of Pakistani boys try to keep warm under blankets in the smoke-filled cold abandoned warehouse. Ibrahim Afridi peeks out. He says that the group have been on their way for around a half year. The borders are closed across the Balkans following an agreement on refugees between the EU and Turkey in March 2016.
Like most of the people here they are hoping for a smugler to get them safe into the EU.
Nadar and Jamal taking a bath in the subzero temperatures.
There is no sanitation and according to MSF an application to set up toilets and showers, submitted to Serbian authorities months ago, has still not been approved. The lack of hygiene facilities is causing several other medical problems besides frost bites and burns such as scabies and body lice.
Ibrahim, 16, an unaccompanied child from Afghanistan is sawing up the chemically treated railway sleepers in absence of properly firewood, which will make a very toxic fume when burned. He has been stuck in the refugee settlement at the abandoned warehouses for around 4 months. There's unaccompanied minors down till the age of 8.
Many of the refugees have been on their way for more than a half year and most of them have been stuck in the camp for around 4 months.
A group of Afghan refugees crowd around a fire in front the smoke-filled, derelict warehouses in Belgrade.
Many don’t sleep at night due to the freezing temperatures going as low as -20.
Refugees waiting in line for food next to the abandoned warehouses. Every day at 1 pm volunteers serve one free meal for the day. According to UNCHR, there are 6000 refugees in Serbia.
UNCHR-worker trying to convince Afghan refugees to come to the official center.
Fear of deportation and missing the chance to inter EU are making them stay in the subzero temperatures at the abandoned warehouses behind the railway station in Belgrade.
Wahid Khan, 19, fled with a group of seven friends from Afghanistan because of fear for Taliban. They sold their land and borrowed money from relatives to make the trip. Now they are stuck in Serbia due to closed borders, waiting for their chance to get to the EU with human smugglers.
Since most of them are over 18 they are afraid to be disported back if they go to the official centers.
Thousands of refugees ends in Belgrade after EU and Turkey has signed a deal to restrict the number of refugees arriving by boat. A couple of hundreds are still staying at the camp hoping to get into the EU. Among them is a big part of unaccompanied children, boys between 8-17. They are afraid to go to the official centers and not having the chance to move on and being forced to stay in Serbia or get deportation. Every night humansmuglers stands outside the camp. It cost around 3000 euros to get over the border, but very likely they will only meet the angry dogs and the polices batons at the Hungarian or Croatian border if the smugler even takes them that far.
Many of the refugees have been on their way for more than a half year and most of them have been stuck in the camp for around 4 months now.