Hundreds of people from the north have traveled to European Union (EU) countries in the last few days, claims the president of the NGO "Euromost" Almer Mekić.
Warning that they have been monitoring "mass emigration" for months, Mekić announced that it was the "biggest wave" in the last six months and that at least 700 people had left.
He believes that the "greatest number" emigrate because of the difficult socio-economic situation and "the inability to feed themselves and their families".
"During 2014, between 300 and 700 people left each month, and now that number has been exceeded in just a few days. This is allegedly due to rumors that European countries will accept asylum until May 1," Mekić said, warning that he expects more a larger number after the end of the school year, if something "is not done urgently".
He claims that three buses left Bijelo Polje for the weekend, and one each on Monday, Tuesday and yesterday, and that carriers from Novi Pazar introduced "additional lines" due to the "increasing number of interested people".
"In contact with Novi Pazar carriers, we found out that all local agencies were involved in the transport. We received information that four buses left that city on Saturday, and two on Tuesday. Some of the agencies we contacted did not want to specify the number of buses, only have told us that there is a lot of interest," Mekić explained, as he arrived at a figure of at least 700 people.
He said that, according to announcements, four to six buses will travel from Bijelo Polje and Novi Pazar to Europe this weekend.
"They are also transported by taxi drivers, so on Tuesday evening we saw a van with Novi Pazar license plates, accompanied by a small car. Passengers were picked up in front of their houses, because many do not want it to be known that they are going to an asylum. We attended the departure of another bus yesterday around 14 p.m. "He drove the people of Bjelopolje to Novi Pazar, from where they will take the others on," Mekić said.
Grandpa's tears at parting
Mekić claims that he also saw an elderly man who saw off his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren: "After they left, crying, he said to the old man next to him: 'I don't know if I will see them again, but I know they won't be hungry'".
He assessed that the abolition of social welfare contributed significantly to emigration, pointing out that in Rožaje alone in November, "about 600 families were left without these incomes".
He invited the Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, Zorica Beba Kovačević, to visit the north after the holidays and discuss with the presidents of the municipalities from which the largest number of people are emigrating, on how to stop it.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
