Report on the Performance of Activities of the National Preventive Mechanism for 2015
After the opening of the Transit Centre in SB, the organization improved and so did the
provision of information, especially following the placement of a video wall with information
concerning the obligation of registration, the possibility of requesting international protection,
reception, organization and services in the Centre, in Arabic, Farsi and Urdu. Interpreters also
helped with information, especially concerning getting on/off means of transport, and some of
these interpreters were even persons whose international protection in the Republic of Croatia
had been approved, which demonstrates their positive contribution to the refugee crisis and
society as a whole. According to available information, some of them were offered the
opportunity to acquire Croatian nationality under preferential criteria on the basis of an
evaluation of the Ministry of Interior that this was in the interest of the Republic of Croatia.
Separated families
Considering that refugees often travel in large groups or families, they would become
separated along the way due to various circumstances, mostly because they could not board
the same train or bus. In the first few days, there were several complaints about the
impossibility of finding family members, that is, a lack of information about how to find family
members. Family reunification was within the competence of the search service of the National
Office of the Tracing Service of CRC, so a special tent was set up in Opatovac Camp.
After the opening of the Transit Centre in SB, the problem of separated families was resolved
to a considerable extent, because in the event of separation at the time of arrival at the Centre
(for example, for a visit to the doctor), a temporary waiting room for other members of the
family was set up in the registration section, as well as special containers for those waiting for
someone taken to the doctor. At the time of leaving the section and departure for a day-care
facility, each person was registered separately, so that his/her whereabouts were known at all
times. In the event of separation during their journey, a special tent in the Transit Centre in SB
intended for persons waiting for other family members was set up, so that they could get on a
train together and continue their journey, with the assistance of the CRC. Further, a mobile
application for finding family members was also introduced.
Vulnerable groups
During the visits, we paid special attention to the treatment of vulnerable groups: families,
unaccompanied minors, people with disability, and the elderly. In the first days of the crisis, at
the time of boarding a train at the railway station in Tovarnik, there was pushing and shoving
of women and children as stronger men pushed their way to the front, while some of them
entered the train through the windows. However, the very next day the boarding was much
better and vulnerable groups received the attention that was due to them. In Opatovac Camp,
a special section was organized for families with children that had heated containers.
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