Fleeing War, Refugees Get Much-needed Support in Serbia

Herin, a 27-year-old Syrian mother is travelling through Serbia in route to Germany, where her husband went ahead of her in search for a better life for their family. She started the journey with three children, now she has four. Her youngest was born less than three weeks ago in Turkey.

“My heart aches when I see [cases like] this...”

Like many making their way through Serbia on their way to the European Union, she stops in the One Stop Center in the once sleepy town of Adaševci in northern Serbia. As its name implies, the One Stop Centre is a coordination point for information and services for refugees and migrants. On the day Herin stopped in, World Vision response staff members Rami, a Cultural Mediator and Translator and Iva, a World Vision Child Protection Officer, were standing by to help. The work of both Rami and Iva focuses on providing protection to the most vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers, especially children and unaccompanied minors, transiting through Serbia. The work is funded by the European Commission for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO).

World Vision's approach to helping children in conflict

Herin speaks to Rami and Iva, with tiny Aya wrapped almost completely in a blanket, only her head and her innocent green eyes, oblivious to the surrounding, were exposed.  Baby Aya is so small and weak that she could barely move her head.

“My heart aches when I see [cases like] this,” says Iva. “The most difficult thing in our work is the fact that we cannot respond to all the refugee’s needs. [Nevertheless], we work hard to provide the bare necessities, such as taking care of children, keeping families together and helping unaccompanied minors,” she explains. Iva and Rami help Herin by providing information about what they can expect during the rest of their journey through Serbia. They tell her what steps she must take and what assistance is available along the way.  “One of the biggest challenges [refugees have] is not enough information about the rest of the journey,” says Rami.  

A broad smile covered Herin’s face as she spoke with Iva and Rami. “I am very happy to have all my kids together with me,” says Herin, knowing that she will see her husband soon. Herin is an incredibly strong woman. She manages to remain positive despite her difficult circumstances. Hope, she says, is her driving force. She has also passed her positivity along to her kids

Thanks to the information Iva and Rami shared, Herin was able to save her energies and wait at the One Stop Centre for a bus that would take her and her children to a train station to continue their journey towards Germany.

“When we approach them, for a moment they stop feeling like refugees...”

When they are not at the One Stop Centre, Rami and Iva often visit other service provision sites to support the refugees there. One such place they often visit is a tent, just down the road from the One Stop Centre where refugees can rest and have a warm cup of tea or plate of soup. Iva visits with Syrian family of six who are sitting in the corner. The parents and four children 8, 4, 3, and 1 are taking a much-needed rest after 10 days on the move; a white plastic bag serves as a table cloth with canned food, bread, cookies and raisins laid out on top. Iva plays with the children while she also speaks with their parents. “Without NGOs, we would not know what to do. Thank you so much,” says Shems, their mother.

The support provided through ECHO is designed to help families on their journey throughout Serbia. World Vision has staff in both the north and the south of the country. 

“The most important thing is to know the culture of these people,” says Rami, “especially when you translate, since then the refugees could open to you, listen to what you have to say and follow your instructions closely.”

World Vision staff, through ECHO programme, helps between 200-400 people a day. “The refugees are very thankful for this help,” says Iva, “We serve as a stress relief for them. We go into the buses to talk to them, encourage them and give them advice since they [often do not] have enough information about where they need to go and what documents they need to have, etc.”

“When we approach them, for a moment they stop feeling like refugees,” reveals Iva. “With this help, we restore their faith in humanity because they feel there is someone who will help them,” she adds.

There are many more refugee families passing through Serbia in need for help. Thousands of refugees are stranded in Greece, Macedonia and Serbia waiting to pass through the borders. The ECHO programme is designed to ensure protection and enhance the coping strategies of the most vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers transiting through the Western Balkans.

With the help from ECHO programme and teams on the field, World Vision will reach out and provide support to as many refugees as possible in order to make their journey safer and more bearable. To date, the World Vision team has supported more than 14,000 refugees.

Since Sept. 2015, World Vision has helped more than 140,000 people with life-saving supplies, such as food, water and blankets as well as psycho-social support provided through Child Friendly Spaces.  

Bringing Hope to Forgotten Faces: 2015 Syria Crisis Response Report