Index – Culture – Refugees should not know anything about themselves

The media bombards us with images of refugees arriving in Lampedusa, but no one talks about the Balkan route, especially its 234-kilometer stretch between Italy and Slovenia. Yet today it is the gateway to Europe, used by thousands of refugees every day. What is the reason for this?

We not only see refugees arriving in Lampedusa every day, we also hear a lot about what is happening in Croatia and Bosnia. However, no one talks about the fact that thousands and tens of thousands of refugees are crossing the border here in northern Italy. There is no question about where these refugees go, how they live, what they bring with them and what traces they leave, no one has shown in the film so far. There are many reasons for this. On the one hand, it is easier to identify, not notice anything, those who arrive in Lampedusa by barge by sea, which is a specific situation with a specific administration. However, the refugees in the forest near the Slovenian villages around Trieste and along the border are invisible. They don’t accidentally choose this route because they want to remain invisible, and the Italian authorities don’t really want to notice them, even though they know about them. It would be difficult not to know, since they leave many traces, shoes, clothes, hygiene and hygiene products, medicines and documents that indicate their identity, throwing away their lives until now. They don’t want to be identifiable.

Why don’t the authorities take care of them?

The Italian authorities are turning a blind eye to the refugees as dealing with the situation would require a lot of police work, border guards, infrastructure (fingerprinting, interpreter, money, etc.) and they have something to deal with if they are they move anyway. Because they mostly go further to France, Spain or the northern European states. I have not met a single official during the long months of filming, even though we have been in the forest quite a bit. On the roads, when they appear, of course, you have to stop them, but no one in the forest will chase them. Refugees arrive at the border at night, occupy, sleep, change clothes, and then continue for five to six hours in the morning while it is still dark. They are literally not visible. They don’t want to leave a trace, so they leave their IDs, passports, all kinds of official refugee documents in the forest, even refugee IDs from the most recent refugee center, like Bihac, Bosnia. They are interested in not knowing anything about them. Because if they find these documents with them, they can deport them back to where they came from, and their entire trip of several weeks, months, their work, their hard work, will be lost, or they can start over.

But after that, in many cases, they will most likely have to change their name, life, identity, because they only have to exist with some name or status. This may be the most horrible of all.

Look, if someone came this far from Bangladesh, Nepal or Libya, dragged their family, children or even newborns across continents and seas, it doesn’t really matter what is on their ID card. We saw many families, including babies, and among the things they left were diapers, strollers, and bottles. There are very serious decisions, difficult life decisions behind these paths, not to mention the human destinies lived. We find, for example, a woman who left Sfax, Tunisia, who is not far from Lampedusa, specifically in front of him, but she chose not this but the Balkan route.

How long is this trip? I mean Slovenia and Italy borderlying section ?

It’s not that long in itself, 234 miles, but what they do before and after is a lot. They come from Africa, Asia, Bangladesh, Iran, Libya. Many come directly from Bosnia, the Bihács refugee camp.

Where do they go after that?

Most ask about the forest section where the train station is, but there are those who continue on foot. Refugees are moving fast, we found a lot of train and bus tickets in the forest, even plane tickets. According to the documents he left, one of them came from Kathmandu, then he went to Dubai by plane, then he flew to Zagreb, from where he came here via the forest route. This section is unavoidable, whatever and where they come from before. Going through so many countries in such circumstances changes the personality, leaving serious traces on the person.

How well do the refugees themselves know this route? How much preliminary information do you have about it?

You may know this or that from your peers who set out before, but think about it, it’s dense, dangerous and hard to penetrate forests where driving or navigating isn’t that easy so you must have a smartphone to keep going. We also find a large number of mobile phones, and even a powerbank that allows us to charge the phone in the long term. In the past, these routes passed through Hungary, but since Hungary completely repelled the refugees and built a fence, it has now become the main route. When they block one channel, people look for another.

What is known about the role of human smugglers on the Balkan route?

Italians only know about the refugees from Lampedusa and the south, little about the Balkan route, and nothing about the part we present. Of course, the phenomenon of thousands and tens of thousands fleeing across continents also brings with it human traffickers, who profit financially from their other miseries, but sadly the affected countries, including Italy, have yet to find one. humanitarian solution to the problem. By the way, smugglers have also been arrested recently, but not many such cases are known.

It is inconceivable that the people of the area do not know these people. The film also emphasizes that the border is usually 150 to 300 meters away.

The inhabitants of the small villages along the border know them, and there are even those who help the refugees. But most of them fall in love with political propaganda, which shapes their attitudes as a result.

The film does not present the refugees themselves, only what they leave behind. Toothbrushes, bras, refugee camp papers, sleeping bags, pain relievers, torn bank cards – essential supplies for everyday life. Didn’t you think about probing some fugitives, either anonymously or by covering your face?

I was able to talk to some of them, but basically it wasn’t their voice that was my goal. I wanted to show them their way, clearly, honestly, and humanely, before any propaganda or legend was built on this story. Before you start to get into the usual stereotype about them, it’s just that they are young and strong men, which is not true at all. Among the things left behind are women’s underwear, children’s clothing, medicines, hygiene and toilet products, in a word, it is clear that we are talking about entire families with women and children. Of course, single men also undertake the journey in the hope of settling in the destination country, finding a job, or at least refugee status, thus laying the foundation for subsequent family reunification.

Has the pandemic changed the mood, the arrival, the habits of the refugees? What effect does the trip have on your departure?

When the time came for total closure in Italy, the refugees arrived the same way and continue to do so to this day. I will continue to observe and investigate even after the film is made, and find that since then we have found more Iranian passports in these places, in Hungarian even more than one of the worst affected countries.

How was this movie born? What did you want from him?

I live in Trieste, not far from this route, and as a resident here you hear this and that. However, I was more deeply interested in the subject, the fate of those who seek a better life who flee a few hundred meters from us. I wanted to show, humanly, that thousands, tens of thousands of people here are searching for their future, and most of them don’t know anything about it. My other motivation was my respect and friendship with Giorgio Pressburger. He told me so many times that he came to Italy as a refugee without a single lyre that that phrase had echoed here in my head for a long time. I recommend the movie.

Were you in danger during the months of filming?

He was not in danger, but of course there were difficulties. The forest is not an easy terrain to shoot.

What were the most shocking objects, documents that you found?

For example, I found a brochure with words in some Iranian language and then the same words in French or in several languages, so that person was made specifically for life abroad. She described the same words several times, many times. It is very moving. I kept this brochure, as well as some other items.

His film has not yet been released in Italy. When will they be?

The coronavirus also makes it much more difficult for us to distribute films and hold festivals. For now, we are looking for the form of what festival we can present. In any case, the film was made completely privately, we did not receive any state support for it.