In the course of 2021, 3.280 migrants passed through Montenegro, while in 2020 there were 2.800, said Dušica Živković from the International Organization for Migrants while visiting Boje jutra on the occasion of the International Day of Migrants.
Živković pointed out that migrants use the green and blue borders to cross, that they most often cross into Montenegro via the Božaj border crossing, and then from Podgorica they travel to Pljevlja or Rožaje, where they leave the country.
"The advantage of Montenegro is that they don't stay long, they practically pass sometimes in a day, and sometimes they stay for 2-3 days as they need to rest and continue. The population is changing, last year we had single men, while this year we have families, mostly from Afghanistan," Zivkovic said.
As he says, the numbers are stable and Montenegro does not go beyond its borders and does not feel the burden when it comes to migratory movements.
"This year, compared to 3.280 migrants, 2.000 were men, 400 were women and the rest were children. That's not a small number, the fact is that there are a lot of children, but the children are with guardians, we don't have unaccompanied children, which is a mitigating circumstance," she explained. .
"They come, get help and continue their journey".
He states that their entry is always illegal and that it costs them as much as transportation from Podgorica to the north.
"According to what they tell us, the trip from Istanbul to Thessaloniki costs them 2.500 thousand euros, from Turkey to Greece by sea 1.500 euros," says Živković.
He adds that the migrants organize themselves among themselves, and that there are no cases where the local population is involved.
"Citizens know that they cannot organize transportation for them across borders because it is a criminal offense," she concluded.
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