Remote woods, abandoned run-down buildings and roadsides in northwestern Bosnia are steadily filling with makeshift camps where migrants and refugees from the Mideast, Asia and North Africa are bracing for more misery as autumn’s chill and rains set in.
A sense of desperation hangs over the hundreds of men and boys who have been forced to build tents from sticks and black plastic tarps in the forests after local authorities in Bosnia's Krajina region decided last month to start pushing them away from town centers, even kicking them out of U.N-run reception centers there.
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Remote woods, abandoned run-down buildings and roadsides in northwestern Bosnia are steadily filling with makeshift camps where migrants and refugees from the Mideast, Asia and North Africa are bracing for more misery as autumn’s chill and rains set in.
The EU has provided Bosnia with 60 million euros ($70 million) in emergency funding, most for seven migrant centers, including five in Krajina, which can house more than 7,000 people.
Bosnia, which has never truly recovered from its brutal 1992-95 war, became a bottleneck for thousands of Europe-bound migrants three years ago when other nations closed their borders and disrupted migration paths through the Balkans.
Migrants who are sleeping in a makeshift camp in a forest outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, walk on a road, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020.(AP PhotoKemal Softic)
A migrant cooks on an open fire at a makeshift camp in a forest outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)
A migrant man uses thermal sheeting to protect himself from a heavy rain while walking on a road outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Migrants walk between improvised tents at a makeshift camp in a forest outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020. Remote woods, abandoned run-down buildings and roadsides on the fringes of northwestern Bosnian towns are steadily filling with makeshift camps where migrants from the Middle East, Asia and North Africa are bracing for more misery as autumn's chill and rains set it. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Migrants who are sleeping in a makeshift camp in a forest outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, run during a heavy rainfall Friday, Sept. 25, 2020. Remote woods, abandoned run-down buildings and roadsides on the fringes of northwestern Bosnian towns are steadily filling with makeshift camps where migrants from the Middle East, Asia and North Africa are bracing for more misery as autumn's chill and rains set it. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Migrants cook on an open fire in an abandoned factory outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. Remote woods, abandoned run-down buildings and roadsides on the fringes of northwestern Bosnian towns are steadily filling with makeshift camps where migrants from the Middle East, Asia and North Africa are bracing for more misery as autumn's chill and rains set it. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Migrants sit in an abandoned factory outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. Remote woods, abandoned run-down buildings and roadsides on the fringes of northwestern Bosnian towns are steadily filling with makeshift camps where migrants from the Middle East, Asia and North Africa are bracing for more misery as autumn's chill and rains set it. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Migrants share thermal sheeting to protect himself from a heavy rain while walking on a road outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020.(AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Migrants stand around improvised tents in a makeshift camp in the woods outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020.(AP PhotoKemal Softic)
A migrant man wrapped in a blanket sits at a makeshift camp outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020.(AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Migrants stand around improvised tents in a makeshift camp outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. Remote woods, abandoned run-down buildings and roadsides on the fringes of northwestern Bosnian towns are steadily filling with makeshift camps where migrants from the Middle East, Asia and North Africa are bracing for more misery as autumn's chill and rains set it. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)
A migrant man prepares to enter an improvised tent in a makeshift camp in a wood outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020.(AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Migrants cook at a makeshift camp outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. Remote woods, abandoned run-down buildings and roadsides on the fringes of northwestern Bosnian towns are steadily filling with makeshift camps where migrants from the Middle East, Asia and North Africa are bracing for more misery as autumn's chill and rains set it. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Krajina shares a highly porous 1,000 kilometer (620 mile) border with European Union member Croatia, making it a major draw for migrants crossing Bosnia. Local authorities say they are bearing the brunt of Europe's lingering migration issues and other parts of impoverished Bosnia are failing to help out.
Migrants who are sleeping in a makeshift camp in a forest outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, clean themselves up in a nearby stream Friday, Sept. 25, 2020. Remote woods, abandoned run-down buildings and roadsides on the fringes of northwestern Bosnian towns are steadily filling with makeshift camps where migrants from the Middle East, Asia and North Africa are bracing for more misery as autumn's chill and rains set it. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)
The EU has provided Bosnia with 60 million euros ($70 million) in emergency funding, most for seven migrant centers, including five in Krajina, which can house more than 7,000 people.
However, Krajina authorities have begun emptying the reception centers and driving the migrants into desolate areas to fend for themselves with no access to medical care or sometimes even food. In response, the police forces of adjacent regions have started blocking migrants from walking back to their areas.
Aid organizations and volunteers helping migrants in Krajina warn that the situation is shifting quickly into a crisis as the number of migrants scavenging the forests for food and bathing in the frigid rivers keeps growing.
A migrant sits near his shelter at a makeshift camp in a forest outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020. Remote woods, abandoned run-down buildings and roadsides on the fringes of northwestern Bosnian towns are steadily filling with makeshift camps where migrants from the Middle East, Asia and North Africa are bracing for more misery as autumn's chill and rains set it. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Bosnia, which has never truly recovered from its brutal 1992-95 war, became a bottleneck for thousands of Europe-bound migrants three years ago when other nations closed their borders and disrupted migration paths through the Balkans.
A migrant rests in a tent improvised from plastic sheets at a makeshift camp in a forest outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020.(AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Migrants who are sleeping in a makeshift camp in a forest outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, walk on a road, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020.(AP PhotoKemal Softic)
A migrant cooks on an open fire at a makeshift camp in a forest outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)
A migrant man uses thermal sheeting to protect himself from a heavy rain while walking on a road outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Migrants walk between improvised tents at a makeshift camp in a forest outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020. Remote woods, abandoned run-down buildings and roadsides on the fringes of northwestern Bosnian towns are steadily filling with makeshift camps where migrants from the Middle East, Asia and North Africa are bracing for more misery as autumn's chill and rains set it. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Migrants who are sleeping in a makeshift camp in a forest outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, run during a heavy rainfall Friday, Sept. 25, 2020. Remote woods, abandoned run-down buildings and roadsides on the fringes of northwestern Bosnian towns are steadily filling with makeshift camps where migrants from the Middle East, Asia and North Africa are bracing for more misery as autumn's chill and rains set it. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Migrants cook on an open fire in an abandoned factory outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. Remote woods, abandoned run-down buildings and roadsides on the fringes of northwestern Bosnian towns are steadily filling with makeshift camps where migrants from the Middle East, Asia and North Africa are bracing for more misery as autumn's chill and rains set it. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Migrants sit in an abandoned factory outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. Remote woods, abandoned run-down buildings and roadsides on the fringes of northwestern Bosnian towns are steadily filling with makeshift camps where migrants from the Middle East, Asia and North Africa are bracing for more misery as autumn's chill and rains set it. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Migrants share thermal sheeting to protect himself from a heavy rain while walking on a road outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020.(AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Migrants stand around improvised tents in a makeshift camp in the woods outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020.(AP PhotoKemal Softic)
A migrant man wrapped in a blanket sits at a makeshift camp outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020.(AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Migrants stand around improvised tents in a makeshift camp outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. Remote woods, abandoned run-down buildings and roadsides on the fringes of northwestern Bosnian towns are steadily filling with makeshift camps where migrants from the Middle East, Asia and North Africa are bracing for more misery as autumn's chill and rains set it. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)
A migrant man prepares to enter an improvised tent in a makeshift camp in a wood outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020.(AP PhotoKemal Softic)
Migrants cook at a makeshift camp outside Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. Remote woods, abandoned run-down buildings and roadsides on the fringes of northwestern Bosnian towns are steadily filling with makeshift camps where migrants from the Middle East, Asia and North Africa are bracing for more misery as autumn's chill and rains set it. (AP PhotoKemal Softic)