AT THE BORDERS

0:01 – 0:12 This winter, hundreds of migrants and refugees are travelling the ‘Balkan route’ on foot, reaching Italy. Many have crossed snow-covered mountains and experienced violence and desperate living conditions trying to reach France.

The only support they receive at the Italian borders is from volunteer groups supported by Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

0:14 – 0:52 [Bengali man - voice] ENG
0:52 – 1:00 Marco Bertotto, head of humanitarian affairs, MSF

[Marco Bertotto - voice]
MSF has been monitoring the situation at the borders for months: in Ventimiglia, Oulx, Trieste, Bolzano, Gorizia.
1:01 – 1:11 There are fewer migrants and refugees here than in previous years, but their number has increased over recent months.

1:11 – 1:14 TRIESTE
Migrants and refugees avoid staying for long in cities out of fear of being turned back. So-called pushbacks happen up to 10 km from the border.

1:15 – 1:18 Many people have reported experiencing abuse or torture on their journeys, especially in Bosnia and Croatia.

1:19 – 1:22 [Marco Bertotto - voice]
People travelling the Balkan route have experienced situations of suffering.

1:23 – 2:03 [Omar – subtitles]
Twice I was stopped in Slovenia,
other times in Zagreb
and many other times
we got caught near the border.
The last time
they inflicted burns on my leg
and told me not to enter Croatia again.
I’ve been here for one year now
and the state of my wounds is still the same.
I’ve heard different views:
some think I’ll need my leg amputated,
others think I’ll have permanent problems.
I’m really worried
because if these are the consequences
I won’t be able to achieve my goal:
to help my family in Pakistan.

2:04 – 2:14 [Marco Bertotto - voice]
Activists and volunteers are the only ones providing shelter, humanitarian aid and medical support. The authorities are completely absent.

2:14 – 2:18 VENTIMIGLIA
Since August, when the transit camp was closed, migrants and refugees have been living on the streets.

2:18 – 2:21 They have been turned back at the border again and again. Many of them are unaccompanied minors.

2:22 – 2:48 Alice, Kesha Niya volunteer

[Alice - subtitles]
We are 1 km from the border between France and Italy.
We are here every day
from 8 am to 8 pm.
We offer food, shoes
and medical assistance too
if they need it
because many are injured.
They can help themselves.
We cook here.
They can relax
and rest
because many of them sleep in containers.

2:49 – 3:02 Luca Daminelli, volunteer at Network 20K

[Luca Daminelli]
Last summer we witnessed up to 200 pushbacks per day.
All these people arriving at the Ventimiglia border are forced to remain here without any kind of assistance from authorities.
3:02 – 3:06 They sleep along the river, on the beach, in the streets.
3:06 – 3:18 MSF donated us sleeping bags, shoes and other items.
Every evening we distribute these items and we provide electricity to recharge phones.
3:19 – 3:24 Other volunteer groups distribute food to people on the move.
3:24 – 3:45 We are in a small flat owned by the charity Diaconia Valdese.
We’ve brought a Sudanese and an Ivorian family who we met last night at Ventimiglia train station. There are around 20 of them, 15 of them children.
They’ll have a warm place to sleep for a couple of nights before leaving again for France.

3:45 – 4:00 [Sudanese women - subtitles]
We were sitting in the street.
We weren’t sleeping yet but we would have slept there.
Then the people from the organisation came.
They warmly welcomed us, they gave us rooms, food and blankets.

4:00 – 4:10 [Luca Daminelli - voice]
Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, these people live in conditions with poor hygiene and they get no medical support
4:11 – 4:17 other than some volunteer doctors who work for Caritas in Ventimiglia for a few hours each week.

4:17 – 4:25 Christian Papini, director of Caritas Ventimiglia

[Christian Papini - voice]
Many volunteers are elderly people, so we told them to stay at home
and the number of volunteers decreased.
4:26 – 4:34 Migrants are tired. In 2016 you could see a glimmer of hope in their eyes, but now the hope is dwindling.
4:34 – 4:39 The state is completely absent. What will happen if the number of infections increase?

4:41 – 4:48 [Man1 - subtitles]
In Italy they didn’t give us a residence permit.
We have been waiting for four years.
If we can’t work,
how can we afford a house?

4:48 – 4:52 [Man2 - subtitles]
This is for the fire,
for heating water to have a shower.

4:58 – 5:06 [Man3 - subtitles]
We sleep in these abandoned houses.
There’s no water or electricity.
In Ventimiglia
migrants live in catastrophic conditions.
It’s dangerous.

5:12 – 5:20 [Man4 - voice]
I’ve been here in Bolzano for 18 months. My documents are stuck with the police.
Without documents I can’t get a job
5:20 – 5:28 and without a job I can’t get a house.
I’m trapped here. I sleep in the street, down by the river.
5:28 – 5:43 It’s really hard. By the river it’s really cold. It’s hard to eat, to cook, to get a shower and many other things. By the river it’s impossible.
5:45 – 5:52 We worked in the countryside, but it isn’t harvest time now. In the countryside there are jobs for two or four months at most.
5:52-5:54 My life must change.

5:54 – 6:00 BOLZANO
People live in the street in terrible conditions, without water or toilets and surrounded by rubbish.

6:00 – 6:47 [ENG]

6:48 – 6:53 OULX
Travelling via the Balkan route, people cross snow-covered mountains to reach France. Pushbacks by the French police are common.

6:54 – 6:56 [Piero Gorza - voice]
Whole families are coming here.
6:56 – 7:00 Piero Gorza, anthropologist and activist

They come from Iran, Kurdistan, Afghanistan.
7:01 – 7:07 They have debts they want to pay off and they have an urgent need to leave.
7:08 – 7:16 It involves crossing the mountains. During the winter they have to be careful not to get lost.
7:17 – 7:24 When you walk in temperatures of -15°C,
if your feet get wet, you risk your life.
7:24 – 7:30 This is a supportive valley. Some people go into the mountains bringing aid.
.
7:31 – 7:38 This isn’t aiding and abetting illegal immigration; it’s like giving a lifejacket to someone drowning at sea.
It prevents deaths.

7:39 – 7:52 Ahmad Al-Rousan, cultural mediator, MSF

[Ahmad Al Rousan - voice]
We’re at the border between Italy and France, at the beginning of a mountain path.
A few minutes ago we saw an Afghan family walking here with several children. They are trying to reach the other side.
7:52 – 8:00 This is only a part of their journey that started a long time ago. They’ve crossed many countries.
8:00 – 8:06 It’s really hard to undertake this journey with children in this weather.
8:07 – 8:12 We really hope they’ll make it because we know this is their life’s goal.

8:13 – 8:15 Photos and videos:
Vincenzo Livieri > North East
Francesca Volpi > North West
Video editing > Barbara Buldrassi

8:15 MSF urges Italian authorities to:
-stop pushbacks at the Slovenian border
-ensure that police controls at the Italy-France border respect people’s dignity and security and protect the most vulnerable people
-ensure that people have dignified living conditions, assistance and access to medical care in all border areas.

This story is dedicated to the crucial, often isolated, commitment of activists, organisations and local communities who provide support and assistance to migrants on the move at the borders.