SERBIA/CROATIA/SLOVENIA 5/11/2015 Thursday 23:45 evening

SERBIA/CROATIA/SLOVENIA 5/11/2015 Thursday 23:45 evening

GENERAL: Ferry boat workers announced strike from Monday till Friday morning in Greece - might be a big problem for all Greek islands and will be relief for the Balkan route this week. Today 2000 refugees crossed the border between Greece and Macedonia.

Follow http://www.refugeemap.com for detailed info.

CROATIA/SERBIA
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BERKASOVO/BAPSKA (Serbian side) -  Berkasovo is EMPTY, no new buses arriving from Serbia. Czech team has moved material to storage places in Šid.

ŠID (train station) - Buses bring refugees here from Presevo. Situation calm and fluent. Refugees stay just half an hour at the train station, buses are stopped earlier (on higway close to Adaševci) and refugees wait in the bus (sometimes up to 6 hours) until the next train is ready. Several trains left for Slavonski Brod today, altogether cca 5500 people. Serbian side has got capacity up to 1000 people in Principovac and other places around Šid in case the trains are not able to transport all refugees. No help apart from UNHCR and Red Cross allowed at the moment at the train station. Czech team is monitoring the situation and checking the possibility to help in Adaševci.

SLAVONSKI BROD - New winter camp with capacity around 7 000 people. Trains come from Šid, refugees spend just few hours and leave for Slovenia fluently. Accreditation needed for the camp - contact Maja Znika on FB or number below before you come, but enough volunteers till the end of this week. Contact: +385-99-5021-926

OPATOVAC - Camp empty and closed.

PRESEVO - Situation stable and under control at the moment, almost no refugees today, but during the night and tomorrow 2000 expected to come from Macedonia. The nights are very cold, temperature drops to zero. Boots, socks, raincoats, jackets, blankets needed. Financial help needed to arrange the food for refugees (700 euros spent daily). If the weather changes, volunteers will be needed to manage 24/7 service (shorter shifts in the cold weather).
Contact Xhelal Hasani from the Center of Solidarity and Advancement Tel. +381 633 74 034, xhelal_hasani@hotmail.com or use general contact number for volunteers +381 642 653 479 if you want to help there.

BUJANOVAC - Transit point at the moment, hundreds of refugees come here daily from Presevo as Bujanovac has got better transport connections – bus and train. UNHCR partner “Sigma Plus” on site. Sigma Plus say items that are needed here are:  food, clothes, shoes and blankets.

DIMITROVGRAD - Refugees: 100 in the last 24 hrs. Needs: FINANCIAL HELP, TENTS, shoes, jackets, gloves, hats, socks. Medical help would be appreciated. Contact: Katie Olsson (+381 643 22 10 38) or Christel Sirocchi (+381 64 25 18 468). No volunteers needed now, accreditation very difficult (notifictation 48 hrs ahead you your arrival), but if you have time to spend week or two there, your help may be useful.

BEOGRAD - Refugees here have the option to go to the Asylum Center at Krnjača, where they have access to hot meals, showers and a place to rest. From Belgrade, they can take the bus to Šid.

At "Miksaliste" Volunteers are still needed, despite it not being as sexy as direct field volunteering. Join us distributing clothing, shoes, food and hygienic items and creating a welcoming atmosphere for the stop-over in Belgrade. We're still accepting and also redistributing donations to border points, which requires help in sorting and packing. Find out more and please register at Volunteer Spot http://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/4179297180119 to see what is needed there and to sign up for timeslots.

SLOVENIA/CROATIA
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BREZICE, DOBOVA - Dobova 2, and Dobova 1 and Brežice is empty. Several thousand people cross Dobova Train Station per day. All of them are boarding directly on trains going to the Austrian border (Sentilj/Spielfeld) after spending a couple of hours there with the registration procedure.

SPIELFELD/SENTILJ - Camps on both sides of the border are busy, but controlled. Šentilj had around 1800 people at 6 PM. Volunteers may sign up with Slovenska Filantropija through their online form (http://www.filantropija.org/prijave/pomoc-na-terenu/), but no volunteers needed at the moment. Volunteers welcome in Spielfeld, but only have access if registered with the Red Cross (Team Österreich) https://www.teamoesterreich.at/cv/tomReg.jsf - See timetable to register for a shift here: https://helfen.st.roteskreuz.at/.
Waiting time is reduced thanks to better organisation on the Austrian side (more lines to enter the country were added and hence less crowd control problems). For donations, please check this FB site: https://www.facebook.com/RefugeesSpielfeld/

OTHER NEWS
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- If you have enough time and sources to travel to Lesvos, Greece, where situation is desperate, do that. Volunteers are saving lives from sea, but many desperate scenes including those refugees, who were not lucky enough and drowned in the sea. Read this volunteering guide to Lesvos: http://bit.ly/lesvolunteer. Czech group of volunteers is preparing to help there as well, more information here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1077236385642577/. Doctors/Arabic speakers welcome!

- Situation in Macedonia is somehow stabilized, official NGO's helping. Independent volunteers NOT able to help, accreditation with official NGO necessary!

- Large amounts of supplies could be picked up in Zagreb, please call Lejla +385 91 456 77 05  if you are able to bring any supplies from Zagreb to any of the borders.

- Also SIM cards for those who has to wait would be great so they can contact their relatives.

- and don't forget to act: http://www.europeact.eu