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MOSTAR, November 24 (FENA) - The first major migrant group arrived in Salakovac Refugee Reception Center near Mostar in May 2018, and the decision by the BiH Council of Ministers to move migrants from Sarajevo to Salakovac provoked fierce reactions at the time.
A year and a half later, the migrant crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina has not subsided. However, there is less and less talk about Salakovac.
Currently, the Salakovac Refugee Reception Center provides accommodation, food and health care for 189 asylum seekers, including 102 children.
The center manager Ahmet Sijamhodžić said in an interview with FENA that migrants in Salakovac are staying longer than usual in this period of the year due to weather conditions.
"In the colder period of the year, they stay in Salakovac for four to five months, while in the warmer period they stay for a much shorter period, about a month. They leave the center according to the house rules and have the right to be absent for three days, and if they do not return within that period, we are obliged to cancel their stay and after that, we do not know and do not deal with what direction they are heading," said Sijamhodžić.
The center strives to provide migrants with the best living conditions possible, including food, healthcare, education.
"Since we have families located here, the age structure ranges from small babies to adult users and the medical team at the Stari Grad Health Center provides medical services three times a week. As for the gender structure, there is a larger number of the male population, so we have 104 males compared to 85 females currently in the center," said Sijamhodžić.
He added that children have not been enrolled in the formal education system.
"The center organizes an informal form of teaching provided by the non-governmental organization "Bosnia and Herzegovina Women's Initiative". This class is occupation therapy where children learn one of our languages to make it easier for them to stay in the center, and classes are held four times a week," said Sijamhodžić.
As for the security situation, Sijamhodžić points out that it is at a satisfactory level.
"We do not have any incidents or any forms of problems among migrants within the center, nor have we had any incidents between migrants and residents of the surrounding settlements. We work preventively here, we talk to the users and remind them that there are private estates in the area and warn them not to enter them, so we have no problems in this regard," said Sijamhodžić.
Regarding food, the manager pointed out that the users of the center could be satisfied because, three meals are provided on a daily basis, as well as additional food needed for young children, pregnant women or other vulnerable categories.
There are numerous non-governmental organizations present in the center, which, he added, are organizing a series of activities for the beneficiaries.
"There are activities such as the already mentioned non-formal education, then a children's corner for the youngest, a sewing course, aerobics for women, numerous sports and other activities. With the help of non-governmental organizations, we also provide psycho-social protection and free legal assistance to the users of the center - said Sijamhodžić.
With regard to the possibility that was mentioned in the media, which refers to the Center in Salakovac accepting returnees from Syria, Sijamhodžić said that they have not yet received any information or orders to prepare for the reception of this type of beneficiaries from the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees.
(FENA) S. R.
