ON HUMANITARIAN SYSTEM TODAY

28th September, 2017, Paul Spiegel, MD, Prof. of International Health, Johns Hopkins School of Pub. Health, said: "Humanitarian system is not only broke but broken". I think, after experiencing humanitarian situation in BiH we can say: "Humanitarian system is not only broken but degenerated".

Dimitar Anakiev

REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS IN BOSNIA: POLICE OFFICERS CORRECT MEDICAL DOCTORS

REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS IN BOSNIA: POLICE OFFICERS CORRECT MEDICAL DOCTORS... Not only FBiH Healthcare law is suspended for the purpose of preventing healthcare of migrants and refugees in Bosnia and Herzegovina, not only pharmacies are not allowed to sell prescribed drugs to refugees and migrants but now police officer search refugees and migrants for medicines and take them preventing refugees to treat their illness. Yesterday a pharmacy in Velika Kladuša refused to sell prescribed drugs to a youngster from Afghanistan diagnosed by local psychiatrist with two psychiatric diseases and today we have case that police in Velika Kladuša took from our patient medicines for Diabetes (Glucophage 850 mg); the police also seized his prescription for the medicines. After our patient started to scream that he needs the tablets for treatment of diabetes police went with him to clinic where doctor confirmed that his life is not endangered at the moment without any compensation for the box of drugs seized by police. It all sounds like a final solution for the question of refugees and migrants in Bosnia.

A LETTER TO MĖDECINES SANS FRONTIÈRES (MSF)

A LETTER TO MĖDECINES SANS FRONTIÈRES (MSF)

Dear colleagues,

my motivation for this letter is based in deep respect towards your organization. In past I was able to learn a lot following MSF work and reading literature you published. For this reason I would like to say that the role of MSF in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not on the level of the reputation and particularly the role of its legal representative does not meet my expectation.

Let me introduce myself: I am a GP and Global Health spec. volunteering in Bosnia last eight months (Velika Kladuša and Bihać) with the purpose of helping medical care of refugees and migrants. We put special efforts in education of volunteers in-field medics and forming volunteers medical teams (VMT).

I started working with refugees and migrants in 2015 as a part of Slovenian EMS. Latter also as medical coordinator of Médicins du Monde in Slovenia, then I co-founded Slovenian humanitarian medical organization Doctors for Asylees where I still serve as a president, then I joined an organisation of volunteers S.O.S. Bosnian Frontier also as an medical coordinator. It is five year now that I continually work with refugees and migrants in the Balkans. I am also invited lectorer at Summer Shool of University of Crete and Ljubljana on the topics of International Medicine.

Our VMT in Velika Kladuša makes over 700 documented medical intervention per month and also significant number of undocumented medical assistance doing at the same time storage and distribution of NFI and restaurant for refugees and migrants. A physician located within former wild camp Trnovi (400 migrants) during 6 hours of work per day (case of myself) usually made over 100 documented consultations, examinations and medical interventions apart from „official“ (not-volunteer) humanitarian medical assistance of MSF (not placed in the camp). These figures, I hope, are for you enough telling for relevant conclusions.

I also hope, being probably one of the rare experts for the field of Global Health in the Balkans, that you will be interested in very brief presentation of health situation of migrants and refugees in Bosnian Frontier. The three major problems of migrants and refugee health in Bosnian Frontier are:

1.Massive violation of human rights (1), (2)

2.Low level of hygiene

3.Psychological pressure

Until now, during eight months of my participation in Bosnian refugee and migrants crisis, the MSF did not do any thing in the field above mentioned three main causes of illness among the refugees and migrants. Not a single thing. I write this with full responsibility. That is how we came to the question of your legal representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I suppose that Mr. S.M. Is not responsible for the whole situation. The MSF appeared in the field in June 2018 having not yet permission to work in B&H (like that, without permission to work, MSF acted in the field 5 months, until October 2018). This of course opens new questions because until June 2018 refugees and migrants were integrated in the local community health care what stopped with appearance of MSF (3).

I only met the MSF legal representative in Bosnia during the FB discussions. I reacted one evening when MSF legal representative verbally attacked one of our volunteer in-field medic complaining for being tired of much work because of big number of patients. He said „volunteers work so hard, paid NGO are just passing by like being all corrupted“. Our volunteers do not sleep in hotels or hostels but in field in very similar conditions as refugees and migrants. Very often they are exhausted especially those ones working long time. I think that the MSF legal representative must understand with whom he speaks and also to show an extent of compassion to volunteer humanitarian work. Instead he started to attack him verbally. The communication with me and MSF legal representative resulting from described situation is documented (4). Later he continued attacking me in the FB. I have heard from other volunteers about similar experiences with the MSF legal representative. He then tried to call me by phone in very different parts of the day but I never answered. The situation lasted a bit. He showed very low respect to the job of physician acting like a „power“. I think poverty of Bosnian people made him think about superiority that can be used in different ways. I have no other explanation. Thank you for your time.

Dimitar Anakiev

Notes:

1. https://zdravniki4azilante.blogspot.com/2019/01/which-human-rights-have-been-violated.html
2. https://medium.com/are-you-syrious/ays-special-from-bosnia-nobody-calls-an-ambulance-for-dying-man-hit-by-car-outside-camp-miral-in-79ec01af415b?fbclid=IwAR3ewYpTW8hwzG_OxWobwMJ_6AxBII0gWZiC-S0fZ1ZM0Foq7bRHqUHbgi0
3. https://zdravniki4azilante.blogspot.com/2018/08/diagnosis-of-health-policy-toward.html
4. https://zdravniki4azilante.blogspot.com/2018/12/msf-in-bosnia-how-to-keep-good-name.html

AYS SPECIAL RAPORT BOSNIA

https://medium.com/are-you-syrious/ays-special-from-bosnia-nobody-calls-an-ambulance-for-dying-man-hit-by-car-outside-camp-miral-in-79ec01af415b?fbclid=IwAR3ewYpTW8hwzG_OxWobwMJ_6AxBII0gWZiC-S0fZ1ZM0Foq7bRHqUHbgi0

IN FIELD STREET MEDIC / DIPLOMA CEREMONI 06. 02. 2019

BOSNIE-HERZÉGOVINE RÉFUGIÉS: UN MÉDECIN ACCUSE

BOSNIE-HERZÉGOVINE RÉFUGIÉS: UN MÉDECIN ACCUSE

Dimitar Anakiev·Četrtek, 07. februar 20195 Reads

 

Dimitar Anakiev est médecin, ancien réfugié lors des guerres qui ont détruit la Yougoslavie dans les années 1990. Il travaille dans les camps de réfugiés des Balkans, qui accueillent ceux que la guerre en Afghanistan, en Syrie ou en Irak a chassés. Le docteur Anakiev accuse : ce sont les droits de l’homme les plus élémentaires qui sont refusés aux réfugiés et ce sont les gouvernements des grandes puissances et les institutions internationales qui en portent la responsabilité. 

 

Environ 4 000 réfugiés et migrants sont pris dans un piège monté par les autorités des Nations unies et des États-Unis dans leur protectorat de Bosnie-Herzégovine. Les prétendues « organisations humanitaires »qui en dépendent, censées être financées pour aider les gens, font tout pour rendre la vie des réfugiés insoutenable, pour qu’ils retournent « volontairement » d’où ils sont venus. Les droits de l’homme – tels que consignés dans la Déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme – sont violés par ceux qui sont censés les défendre. 

 

 Article 5 – « Interdiction de la torture, de traitements et punitions inhumains » 

 

Le droit international considère le refus systématique d’assistance médicale comme un acte de torture. En Bosnie, dans les camps dirigés par les agences des Nations unies, les gens meurent parce qu’ils sont privés de soins médicaux et beaucoup risquent de rester handicapés car leurs maladies ne sont pas correctement traitées. En plus, des réfugiés et des migrants font l’objet d’abus physique de la part de policiers des pays voisins et des services de sécurité privés dans les camps des agences des Nations unites: 

 

 Article 13 – Le « droit à la libre circulation» 

 

Les réfugiés et les migrants en Bosnie-Herzégovine sont interdits de transport public. Un migrant de Kladusa avec une ordonnance du médecin pour se faire faire un diagnostic médical à Bihac (à une soixantaine de kilomètres – ndlr) ne peut s’y présenter s’il n’est pas transporté par les agences des Nations unies, qui ne le font presque jamais. En revanche, une personne privée peut être accusée de violer la loi si elle aide à transporter un réfugié. Nous connaissons un patient à Kladusa qui attend d’être transporté à l’hôpital de Bihac depuis plus de deux mois et demi ! Même s’il a tous les documents nécessaires et l’argent, l’agence humanitaire responsable du transport refuse de le transporter.  

 

Article 14 – Le « droit d’asile » 

 

 Des frontières infranchissables, des policiers qui frappent, humilient et kidnappent des migrants sont des pratiques répandues dans les États membres de l’Union européenne. Les médias en ont rendu compte.  

 

Article 25 – Le « droit à la santé » 

 

 Réfugiés et migrants constituent un groupe vulnérable, comprenant des handicapés, des femmes et des enfants, des personnes âgées. Mais leur santé et leur vie sont menacées par la politique de réduction des soins médicaux pour les migrants (c’est la « marque de fabrique » de l’Union européenne, critiquée maintes fois, y compris par les responsables des Nations unies). À cela s’ajoute qu’en Bosnie-Herzégovine la loi Santé, qui autorisait l’accès au système de soins aux réfugiés et aux migrants, a été suspendue par une directive venue des autorités. Les soins médicaux de première nécessité ont été remplacés par une assistance humanitaire occasionnelle. Cette assistance n’a pas pour tâche de traiter les malades : elle a essentiellement pour but de montrer qu’elle existe… disposant dans le meilleur des cas de cachets de paracétamol (…). Pour conclure, ajoutons que dans les camps de réfugiés l’hébergement est inapproprié, la nourriture insuffisante et de très mauvaise qualité (des centaines de personnes restent sur leur faim après avoir passé des heures à faire la queue pour de la nourriture chaque jour). Il y a un nombre insuffisant de douches – à peu près 50 % de moins que ce qui est prévu par les normes – un grand nombre de douches ne fonctionnent pas et l’eau chaude est rare. Ce tableau d’ensemble manifeste la volonté politique de violer les droits de l’homme et de maintenir un système qui empêche la vie dans les camps pour migrants et réfugiés.

 

Dimitar Anakiev, docteur en médecine

La Tribune de Travailleurs, Paris, 6.2.2019

WHICH HUMAN RIGHTS HAVE BEEN VIOLATED TO REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS IN BOSNIA?

 

WHICH HUMAN RIGHTS HAVE BEEN VIOLATED TO REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS IN BOSNIA?

Health is a human right issue,

human rights are a health issue ,

human rights violation results in adverse health effects
                        Dr. Jonathan Mann (1947-1998), a former WHO official

  About four thousand refugees and migrants are caught in a trap made by the authorities of the EU / USA protectorate of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the so-called "humanitarian organizations". These organizations, although paid to help people (a sum of ten million euros to the IOM alone, was heard) are doing everything possible to make life of the refugees and migrants unbearable, in order to make them "voluntarily return" from where they came from (that is business, organized by the IOM). Human rights are in that way violated by those who are paid to defend them. Let's take a quick look at the list of violations of human rights to refugees in Bosnia following the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed by all UN members.

  Art. 3 - The Right to Life

  There is no official mortality data, and the figures recorded by the press refer to 15 people who died from drowning (in the river Kupa while attempting to cross the border), 2 people who died from the disease (in both cases from pneumonia, in the first case the treatment was delayed, in the second case it did not even begin) and 1 migrant who was killed by knife in a physical altercation for the use of a shower. This data is incomplete (18 death cases), but it is certainly an indicator of the degree of human rights violations because all of these deaths were the result of unfavorable conditions made by the authorities and "humanitarians". At this point it should be noted that in February 2017 Médicins du Monde (Doctors of the World) proposed the formation of "safe corridors" for the passage of migrants and refugees at their will (in accordance with the right to freedom of movement) which would allow for better health and well-being of people but would also offer better control of health and all of its side effects. Obviously, the EU policy went in the opposite direction. The results are in front of us.

  Art. 5 - Prohibition of torture, inhuman treatment and punishment

  International law considers a systematic refusal of medical assistance a torture act. In Bosnian UN agencies-run camps, people are dying because they are deprived of primary medical care and many are at risk of disability because their chronic illnesses are not adequately treated. In addition, refugees and migrants are physically abused, both by police of neighboring countries and by private security services in camps that were set up by UN agencies.

  Art. 13 - The right to free movement

  Refugees and migrants in BiH are banned from using public transport. This means that a migrant from Kladuša, referred by doctor for a diagnostic examination in Bihać, cannot attend the examination if he is not transported by the UN agencies, and in many cases they are reluctant to do so. A private individual may be accused of violating the law if he or she helps refugees in transportation. We know a patient in Kladuša who has been waiting for a transport to the hospital in Bihać for more than 2.5 months and although he has all the necessary papers and even has the money for the medical treatment (which has been collected by the activists) the humanitarian agency responsible for the transportation (IOM) does not want to transport him ... And whoever wants to go from Sarajevo to Kladuša (approx. 370 km through the mountains in the winter) must travel on foot.

  Art. 14 - Right to asylum

  Impassable borders, police officers who are beating, humiliating and kidnapping migrants, are well-known practices by EU members from the edge of this political group. This practice has been largely covered in the media, and therefore we are not analyzing it here, although it is crucial that a certain policy and resolution of a group of countries raise the violation of human rights to the level of their basic policy.

  Art. 25 - The right to health (and other rights under this article)

  Refugees and migrants are generally a vulnerable group, with specific categories of vulnerable groups within (disabled, women and children, elderly people ...), but their health and lives are threatened by the policy of reducing the health care of migrants (it is the EU “trade mark” that has been repeatedly criticized by officials from the UN, and two general secretaries even dedicated their speeches to this topic, furthermore, books and studies that have also been written about it). However, the situation we are able to encounter in BiH is specific for its triple reduction: firstly, the FBiH healthcare law which allowed refugees and migrants the access to the healthcare system has been suspended (of course, not through a democratic legislative procedure, but by secret “ad hoc” directive from above), secondly, primary health care has been replaced by casual and short-term humanitarian medical assistance, and thirdly, the humanitarian medical assistance has no mandate to actually treat the sick in accordance with their needs, but is there with the sole purpose of being present, formally staging over a period of several hours medical assistance where the majority of the diseases are treated with a paracetamol tablet and similar. Let us therefore look at the basic parameters of the right to health as defined by the WHO:

A-Availability

B-Accessibility (physical, economic, informative and non-discriminatory)

C-Acceptability (ethical, cultural and sexually sensitive)

D-Quality (safe, effective, human, timely, non-discriminatory, people-centered, integrated, efficient)

By reviewing these parameters, it becomes obvious that the right to health of refugees and migrants in BiH has practically been violated in full (partial exception is Potemkin's village in Hadžići) and that "humanitarian" organizations are only staging the medical assistance, probably to justify the millions of euros received with the number of paracetamol tablets issued.

Two more things need to be added here:

First of all, it should be mentioned, that the doctors in BiH, despite the very poor conditions in which they operate, have prepared themselves well for work with migrants. In May 2018, in accordance with FBiH law, the FBiH Public Health Institute issued detailed and highly competent medical instructions on the migration problem and health effects on the migrant population (as vulnerable groups) and the local population, guidelines for the formation of medical stations, instructions for the formation of migrant centers, instructions for the recruitment of doctors (among young and unemployed), etc. The “higher force” however did not permit that to be implemented. It should also be mentioned that up until June (when MSF appeared in the field) BiH's impoverished healthcare successfully carried out integrative treatment of migrants and refugees and kept the the public regularly informed about it. An apt example is the Health Center in Velika Kladuša; reports on the work of this institution with migrants are still available in local media. All of this has been stopped, suspended and turned into a large and staged humanitarian action that costs millions and de facto results in massive violation of human rights.

Secondly, all other provisions of Article 25 have either been denied or are insufficiently and inadequately provided. Accommodation of people is inadequate, food is sparse and of very poor quality (hundreds of people remain hungry after hours spent in line waiting for food every day), there is an insufficient number of showers (approx. 50% below standard), a large number of showers are not functioning and warm water is rare ... Together it paints a picture of determination (established policies) to violate human rights in order to establish a system which prevents life in camps for migrants and refugees.

  Dimitar Anakiev, dr. med
Photo: Boštjan Videmšek