Lines that Hurt: A new monthly advocacy report
Today, Collective Aid publishes the first of our new monthly advocacy reports, sharing conversations with people on the move on the Balkan peninsula and Lesvos.
From violent pushbacks at the Bosnia-Herzegovina/Croatian border to another devastating shipwreck outside Lesvos, April’s conversations highlighted the all-too-familiar, but never less enraging pattern of systemic abuse and daily neglect. In Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, and Greece, people endure overcrowded camps, a lack of basic healthcare, and scant access to vital psychological support.
Drawn in the borders, the rhetoric and the policies are the lines that hurt: deeply ingrained patterns of dehumanization putting people at risk, denying them their rights, and preventing them from moving forward with their lives. This report documents not just borders on maps, but the invisible lines of exclusion. those drawn by broken asylum systems, violent policing, and bureaucratic neglect. These are the lines that separate families, deny access to healthcare, and criminalise those seeking safety.
April’s findings are a stark reminder of the human cost of Europe’s migration policies. Two people were killed in a violent incident near Belgrade. A deadly shipwreck off Lesvos claimed multiple lives, including children. Dozens of testimonies describe beatings, injuries, and denial of care, often at the hands of border authorities or in state-run camps.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, people with life-threatening injuries were denied emergency medical support. In Serbia, people reported raids, biometric surveillance, and disappearances. In Greece, survivors spoke of prison-like detention centres and institutionalised neglect.
This report is also a testament to resilience, defiance and community. From informal testimonies shared around fires to coordinated solidarity actions across borders, people continue to resist a system built to break them.
It’s time to redraw the lines: Read the full report at collectiveaidngo.org/blog