It took years for Croatia to finally enter the European passport-free travel zone that promised to ease access for other European nationals traveling to the country and boost its tourism-driven economy.
But less than a year after border crossings with its European Union counterparts were abolished, temporary controls were reintroduced amid a rise in illegal immigration in the region.
Neighboring Slovenia reintroduced controls along its borders last month, following similar measures by Italy and other EU countries.
“People wonder what kind of fence could stop these people who have crossed so many borders and countries,” said Perica Matijevic, head of the Krnjak municipality near the Croatia-Bosnia border, a hotspot for passages.
Matijevic, who spoke of a registration camp for incoming migrants being planned in the region, is not the only one who is weary.
Residents of the barely populated area complain that groups of migrants – almost all of whom are young men – passing through the area only increase their anxiety.
“You should feel safe in your own home, but migrants pass through our yards… there have been thefts, it’s not nice,” said Sara Matijevic, an economics student from the village of Dugi Dol , near where the camp will open.
– ‘Like animals’ –
Croatia, which guards one of the EU’s longest external land borders, has long attracted illegal migrants hoping to enter the bloc.
Over the years, the country has gained an infamous reputation for fiercely patrolling its borders, leading to accusations that its authorities have used violence to push back EU-bound refugees.
In 2021, Zagreb was forced to admit this following the publication of an investigation by major European media which revealed that special units were allegedly systematically targeting refugees in Croatia , in Greece and Romania.
Migrants said little had changed.
Atefa, a 29-year-old Afghan refugee who did not give her last name for security reasons, said Croatian police treated her and eight other migrants “like animals.”
In addition to forcing them to collect trash and pour water into their shoes, police officers groped the women and made obscene noises, she told AFP.
“My breasts still hurt… and they did it all with a smile,” Atefa said from a camp in Bihac, Bosnia.
Like many Afghans, Atefa left the war-torn country two years ago when the Taliban took control after years of conflict.
The current humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, combined with the massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria in February and renewed unrest in the Middle East, have many fearing that the rise in illegal immigration will continue.
At the Bregana-Obrezje border crossing, one of Croatia’s 73 former land border crossings with other EU countries, travelers and residents said temporary checks were necessary.
“Border controls don’t bother me… everything is going well,” said Visnja Krajnovic, a retired economist from Bregana, who says she sees migrants daily in her hometown along the Slovenian border.
– Stripped and beaten –
Last year, almost half of the more than 300,000 EU-bound migrants took the so-called Balkan route, the highest number since the 2015-2016 refugee crisis, according to the monitoring agency of the EU borders, Frontex.
In the first ten months of this year, almost 100,000 migrants took this route, and almost 63,000 of them, including Afghans, followed by Turks, Moroccans and Pakistanis, crossed illegally into Croatia , according to official figures.
This figure represents an increase of 73 percent compared to the same period last year.
This year, a total of 2,559 people reported being violently pushed back to Bosnia from Croatia, mirroring 2022 figures, according to the Danish Refugee Council.
But rights groups warn that violence against refugees is likely to increase as security is tightened at Croatia’s borders.
For Raz Mohammad Saifi, 21, the years-long sojourn from his native Afghanistan to the Croatian border was an arduous and sometimes violent journey that saw him travel overland from Turkey to Bosnia.
After entering Croatia, Saifi said he was attacked by police.
“When the police caught us, they stripped us naked and searched us, they took our cell phones, our money, our shoes,” Saifi told AFP, saying the police also set dogs on him and others before forcing the group to cross a river to return to Bosnia.
Residents of the border village of Trzac gave Saifi and four others clothes and shoes before an aid group organized transport for the men to a nearby camp.
Despite the beatings, Saifi refused to give up his dream of living in France, while emphasizing that he and others meant no harm to locals who still feared migrants.
“If I wanted to be a criminal, if I was willing to kill, I would have stayed in Afghanistan,” he said.
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