Thousands of Syrian refugees are stranded on the border between Serbia and Hungary. Joakim Karlsson, a medicine student from Lund University, is at the scene doing voluntary-work.
Many people flee from Syria because of the safety of Europe. For most of them, the escape route runs through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, and Hungary. But now, Hungary have closed their last frontier station on the Serbian border, and many refugees have been greatly affected.
Medicine student does voluntary-work
The medicine student, Joakim Karlsson, who is on sabbatical leave from his studies at Lund University, has gone down to the Hungarian-Serbian border together with two other students from the University to help. He has been there for a week, and has no plans on returning home.
“The situation is intolerable. When they closed the last outpost a couple of nights ago, over 600 people were trapped in a parking lot. It was cold and started raining, and nobody seemed to take any responsibility. People are running from wars to reach the safety of Europe, and then they are met with this…” he says.
Together with other civilians, Joakim Karlsson provides refugees with necessities, blankets, and tents. But to receive permission to do so, the volunteers need to employ drastic methods.
“We had to bribe Serbian police officers to be able to pass the border, carrying tents. Then, we went to gas stations in the area to buy food and water which we allocated among the refugees” he says.
The authorities do not care
According to Joakim Karlsson, Hungarian authorities are doing absolutely nothing to improve the situation, and the patrols at the border are behaving downright badly towards the refugees.
“A few nights ago, I saw a mother lying on the tarmac together with her four-day-old baby. A couple of guards who were carrying blankets passed her and she asked for one. The guards just laughed and went on their way. They are violent and extremely disagreeable. I cannot grasp how it is possible to educate such an inhuman police force. I am lost for words” he says.
“I do not understand why not more people are here”
The fact that the refugee crisis has arisen and worsened has been common knowledge for some time, and Joakim Karlsson is therefore critical towards why other organisations are not at the scene.
“Organisations such as the Red Cross, Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders undoubtedly help a lot. But I cannot fathom why they are not here; they seem slow and inflexible. There are old people, sick people, and babies, but it is mostly smaller organisations and volunteers that are on the spot to lend a helping hand” he says.
To finance his volunteer work, Joakim Karlsson collects money through Facebook. There, it is possible for civilians to donate money, which is used for buying tents, blankets, and necessities.
“It is truly amazing that people donate. Had they not done that, many refugees had not even had water to drink” he says.
If you want to help refugees, you can donate money through the Facebook-page Joakim Karlsson has established.
Written by: Eskil Blohme
Translation: Richard Helander
