We had be planning a trip to Belgrade for 2 or 3 months. I liked the idea of photographing portraits of locals in front of communist era architecture, and my mate (director /photographer ) Dan Sully was, amongst other things, interested in a uniquely Serbian religious festival that was happening during our 4 nights there.
The Guardian published an article on 14th January entitled: 'Influx of refugees leaves Belgrade at risk of becoming 'new Calais'' by Andrew McDowall and Emma Graham-Harrison so we were vaguely aware of a situation, where thousands of people, escaping war, intolerable hardship or simply looking for a better life are getting stuck in Belgrade as they attempt to make their way to western Europe and the relative sanctuary of the EU.
Despite both of us being professionals, neither of us are reportage photographers. I mostly shoot musicians and actors from the comfort of my studio and Dan does whatever writer/directors do with their time. On our first morning, we stepped out of our hotel with a plan to visit Novi Beograd, the vast brutalist development of the west side of the River Sava. It was only when we met a French photographer on the steps of our hotel that we decided our first stop should be the refugee camp. Having seen our cameras the French photographer assumed we were heading there anyway and started to tell us what to expect. When we explained that yes, we were photographers, but no, we weren't necessarily heading to the camp he seemed shocked. "if you have the means to shed light on the refugees story and plight then you should do so, it's your responsibility as photographers"
The temperature was 7 below zero as we walked past the Serbian Ministry of Justice on our way to the train station. Directly behind were what looked like abandoned railway yards and warehouses. A few ghostly figures wrapped in grey blankets shuffled around in the distance. We felt out of our depth, but decided to venture on. We saw another photographer, Italian freelancer Francesco Pistilli who seemed to find our trepidation amusing. He offered to show us around and it was only when we ventured into one of the warehouses that the full horror of the situation presented itself.
The scene inside is one of almost unimaginable squalor as anything and everything is burnt in an attempt to keep warm and an acrid smoke fills the air. A low chatter can be heard through the constant coughing and spluttering. There are generators dotted around but the amount of heat they produce is pitifully small and they end up being far more useful as a source of power in order to charge smartphones. After food and blankets, a smartphone is the one essential piece of technology that may be able to improve someones situation.
Most women, children and families have been moved into official refugee camps outside of Belgrade, but the single men, and boys as young as 14 know they are at the bottom of the pile when it comes to being able to claim asylum. Since the border with Hungary has closed the men prefer to wait it out, see how the situation develops and potentially get into the EU with a smuggler. But with the temperature in Belgrade dropping as low as 10 below zero the physical health and mental wellbeing of these men is being stretched to breaking point.
Thankfully, some aid agencies are at work, a food truck arrives once a day, around 1pm and provides the one meal these people will get. Also Medicins San Frontier can offer some care as the number of men suffering serious illness increases. The challenge of trying to keep clean is an almost Sisyphean task, with only one source of running water, a full body wash can only happen sporadically. Standing in -7 temperature, the men work together to heat the water in a barrel before pouring it over themselves.
It's unlikely these men and boys would be able to safely return to where they came from but the possibility of going forward and joining up with friends and family in western Europe also seems a far off dream when stuck in Belgrade train station.
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