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In photos: 'The Game' in the Age of the Pandemic

January 21, 2021 | National Geographic
By
Ziyah Gafic
Bihac, Bosnia-Herzegovina: A group of Pakistanis is seen as they are making their way to Croatia over the mountain Plješevica. Bihac and the north-western part of the country is taking the brunt of the escalating crisis. Being in proximity of the border with Croatia it is a logical route for the people on the move. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

Pakistanis make their way to Croatia over the mountain Plješevica on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

Bihać, Bosnia-Herzegovina: A young Afghan is seen on the side of the road leading to the border with Croatia. He was just sent back to Bosnia by Croatian authorities without any due process of repatriation or such and all his possessions were confiscated. He was walking for over a week and his feet are showing signs of the trench foot, a very painful condition caused by inadequate shoes and prolonged stay in wet conditions. Bihac and the north-western part of the country is taking the brunt of the escalating crisis. Being in proximity of the border with Croatia it is a logical route for the people on the move. hey move usually at night, staying away from the villages and towns. If caught they are usually stripped of all their earthly possessions and send back to Bosnia. This ilegal practice is called pushback and often includes violence, beatings and various forms of humiliation. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

A young Afghan is seen on the side of the road leading to the border with Croatia. He was just sent back to Bosnia by Croatian authorities without any due process of repatriation, and all his possessions were confiscated. He was walking for over a week and his feet are showing signs of the trench foot, a very painful condition caused by inadequate shoes and a prolonged stay in wet conditions. Being in proximity of the border with Croatia is a logical route for migrants. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

Velika Kladuša - Bosnia and Herzegovina: A group of the people on the move is seen cueing for food provided by the activist Zehida Bihorac Odobašić in front of the abandoned factory where they built a makeshift, temporary settlement. Due to the lack of imigration centers they are forced to live outdoors and squat in inhumane conditions without access to clean water, health services and food. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

Migrants line up for food provided by the activist Zehida Bihorac Odobašić in front of an abandoned factory where they built a makeshift, temporary settlement in Velika Kladuša. Due to the lack of imigration centers, migrants are forced to live outdoors without access to clean water, health services and food. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

Velika Kladusa - Bosnia and Herzegovina: A group of the people on the move is seen washing their clothes and bathing in a small and polluted stream behind the abandoned factory where they built a makeshift, temporary settlement. Due to the lack of imigration centers they are forced to live outdoors and squat in inhumane conditions without access to clean water, health services and food. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

Migrants wash their clothes and bathe in a small and polluted stream behind the abandoned factory in Velika Kladuša. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

Bihac, Bosnia-Herzegovina: A group of Pakistanis is seen in front of their makeshift outdoor kitchen just before they cross to Croatia. Bihac and the north-western part of the country is taking the brunt of the escalating crisis. Being in proximity of the border with Croatia it is a logical route for the people on the move. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

Pakistanis are seen in front of their makeshift outdoor kitchen just before they cross to Croatia. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

šturlić, Bosnia - Herzegovina: A group of Pakistanis are taking a break in a forest half a mile away from the border with Croatia. Once they cross the border they have nearly 200 miles to reach Italy. They move usually at night, staying away from the villages and towns. If caught they are usually stripped of all their earthly possessions and send back to Bosnia. This ilegal practice is called pushback and often includes violence, beatings and various forms of humiliation. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

Pakistanis rest in a forest half a mile away from the border with Croatia. Once they cross the border they have nearly 200 miles to reach Italy. They usually move at night, staying away from the villages and towns. If caught, they are usually stripped of all their possessions and sent back to Bosnia. This illegal practice is called pushback and often includes violence, beatings, and various forms of humiliation. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina: Rashid is seen hodling apples brought by the activists Given the largely indolent, inadequate and passive approach of the State people on the move largely depend on the help provided by individuals such as Azra and international organizations such as IOM, UNHCR, DRC, RED CROSS and others. Rashid lives in an abandoned, derelict building of the retirement home. The building was on the frontline during the war in the 90’s and it is completely destroyed. It lacks all the basic necessities such as electricity, heating and running water. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

In Sarajevo, Rashid holds apples brought by activists. Migrants largely depend on help provided by people and international organizations. Rashid lives in an abandoned, derelict building. It lacks all the basic necessities such as electricity, heating and running water. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

Velika Kladuša - Bosnia and Herzegovina: A groupl of Morrocans is seen cooking in the abandoned factory where they built a makeshift, temporary settlement. Due to the lack of imigration centers they are forced to live outdoors and squat in inhumane conditions without access to clean water, health services and food. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

In Velika Kladuša, a group of Morrocans cook in the abandoned factory where they built a makeshift, temporary settlement. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina: An activist, Azra Velagić Macić is seen distributing food to a group of people from Morrocco and Algeria. Given the largely indolent, inadequate and passive approach of the State people on the move largely depend on the help provided by individuals such as Azra and international organizations such as IOM, UNHCR, DRC, RED CROSS and others. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

Activist Azra Velagić Macić distributes food to a group of people from Morocco and Algeria in Sarajevo. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

Bihać, Bosnia-Herzegovina: A scene from Vučjak, the first informal settlement of the people on the move in Bosnia. Due to the lack of imigration centers they are forced to live outdoors and squat in inhumane conditions without access to clean water, health services and food. Bihac and the north-western part of the country is taking the brunt of the escalating crisis. Being in proximity of the border with Croatia it is a logical route for the people on the move. hey move usually at night, staying away from the villages and towns. If caught they are usually stripped of all their earthly possessions and send back to Bosnia. This ilegal practice is called pushback and often includes violence, beatings and various forms of humiliation. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2019.

Vučjak, the first informal settlement of migrants in Bosnia, is seen in Bihać. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2019.

Bihać, Bosnia-Herzegovina: A young Pakistani is seen sleeping rought on the grass of the football pitch in Bihac. Bihac and the north-western part of the country is taking the brunt of the escalating crisis. Being in proximity of the border with Croatia it is a logical route for the people on the move. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

A young Pakistani sleeps on the grass in Bihać. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

Zvornik, Bosnia-Hercegovina: Two migrants are seen crossing the river Drina between Bosnia and Serbia. As the winter is coming Drina is becoming increasingly dangerous to cross, yet it is still the most common way for the people on the move to cross from Serbia to Bosnia. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

Two migrants cross the river Drina between Bosnia and Serbia. As winter comes, Drina is becoming increasingly dangerous to cross, yet it is still the most common way for migrants to cross from Serbia to Bosnia. Image by Ziyah Gafic. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2020.

This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, The National Geographic Society and VII Foundation.

Bosnia-Herzegovina became an unlikely gatekeeper of the European Union. Since Hungary sealed off its borders with the rest of the Balkans, Bosnia’s over a thousand miles long, porous borders became the principal gateway to Europe for tens of thousands of migrants and refugees on their perilous journey to a better life.

The majority see Bosnia as only a transit country. All they want is to get in “The Game,” a term used to describe their journey to reach the European Union.

This precarious odyssey involves navigating treacherous rivers and minefields left over from the Bosnian war, then trekking on foot through Croatia, all the way to Italy and beyond.

Even before the pandemic, the people on the move were by far the largest marginalized group in Bosnia, with extremely limited health care and precarious lifestyles, squatting in abandoned, overcrowded buildings that lack even basic sanitation.

The ongoing pandemic is quickly exacerbating the tensions between the local population and migrants. The local population is self organising in some form of vigilante groups, stopping the buses and inspecting them if they are transporting migrants, a completely illegal practice ignored by the authorities. People in the northwest of the country are largely carrying the burden of the uncontrolled influx of migrants and refugees and the pressure is mounting. All the difficulties the pandemic brought, financial insecurity in particular, are only augmenting their frustration, which could escalate into violence toward the people on the move. Cases of COVID-19 are being reported among migrants and refugees; social distancing is simply not an option for them. Given the fragility of the Bosnian health care system and general animosity toward the migrants, it is easy to imagine a disastrous scenario.

The pandemic will eventually end, but the migrants’ ordeal in Bosnia will likely continue.

The photos were published in the print version of these National Geographic magazines: National Geographic Serbia in November 2020 and National Geographic Croatia in November/December 2020.

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