This was not the worst of the warehouses but even here the smoke was thick and the sheer toxicity of it all made it incredibly hard to breath. Yet here is where over a thousand refugees still live in the bitter bitter cold of a Belgrade winter. 

This piece of the refugee crisis has been hidden for a while now and yet it continues quietly and up until now, quietly ignored by the powers that be in Europe. It was back in May that my colleagues here said that all the refugees stranded here with the implementation of the EU-Turkey deal were gone, moved on with smugglers. They have been replaced though. Over 7,000 refugees stuck in Serbia now. Over 14,000 somewhere along the so-called Balkan route.  

So far this new year five refugees have died, frozen in the fields and forests from northern Greece to Bulgaria for the very simple reason that they were seeking a safe life.  

And the refugees here in these warehouses behind the bus station in Belgrade are at extreme risk too. Open fires inside the warehouse, the air so toxic it still hurts the back of my throat and I was only inside for five minutes, and of course the cold. Tomorrow the temperature won't rise above freezing. Tomorrow night 13F -8C.  

More resources. More attention. More action. All needed now.  

It is life or death for those fleeing death in search of life.  

January 2017