UPDATE 29th October

Dear Friends,

Apologies for such a long gap between communications regarding the funds that we raised for the Syrian refugees in Serbia.  The situation has been complicated and ever changing and as a result it has taken me longer than I thought it would to finalise the best use of the money as well as the best organization to donate it to in Serbia. It has been worth the work and time though, as I have found a fantastic project called ‘Info-Park’ to donate the money to, and I think you will agree that our donation will make an incredible difference in the lives of thousands of refugees.

As you may remember, while visiting Serbia in September, I decided to raise £1,000 so that I could distribute some care packages to refugees in a local park. This was a personal project and the Conservatoire trustees graciously agreed to act as the fiscal receiver.  People’s generosity was overwhelming and with Gift Aid we raised £8,000.  As I posted on the site, it was soon obvious that we could make a substantial and strategic contribution far beyond just care packages, as £8K in Serbian money goes very far.  But with this came the responsibility of finding the right project and then ensuring that the money went to a safe organization that could guarantee that the money would go for what we intended.  Not as easy to do as it sounded.

However, through some Serbian friends I was able to connect with the amazing Gordan Paunovic, CEO of Fund B92, a charity set up by the very successful and respected radio and media station B92, which was the leading underground resistance to Miloseviec’s regime in the ‘90s (for a fascinating account of the station and their movement, read ‘This is Serbia Calling’ by Matthew Collin.)  We initially thought that the money we raised could be used to purchase portable shower blocks for the main park in Belgrade which the refugees are using as a stop-over; however, this did not work out as the authorities were not keen for it to happen.

I have discovered that Gordan is not a man to accept defeat.  When one door closes, he’s already begun to open others. Working with two smaller foundations, he created  Info-Park, a wooden hut in Belgrade’s central park, which acts as a wi-fi area, mobile phone charging station and refugee  life-line info point. Refugees get all the info on how to carry on in the most efficient way, the current situation on the borders, when to leave, what is the cheapest transfer, where to get free aid like food, blankets, clothes etc.  Info-park volunteers have even accepted Western Union payments on behalf of refugees who lost their passports! 

You and I may be attached to our mobile phones, but for refugees, they are a life-line, and so it is crucial to provide them with wifi, charging stations and functional Viber or WhatsApp so they can talk to their families either in Syria or in Europe, to learn about hazards and dangers ahead and to make decisions for what to do and where to go.   In an attempt to increase their chances of crossing the borders, many families are splitting up and going in different directions.  You can imagine how vital mobile phones are for staying in touch and ensuring that these families can re-unite.

When it was set up, the Belgrade Info-Park immediately started serving nearly 1,000 people a day.  It has been such a success that with additional donations they have now set up one on the border between Serbia and Croatia and are planning to use our donation to create another one in Preshevo, on the Macedonian border.

The daily costs of running is 300 Euros, which mostly goes on fees for the Arabic and Farsi translators, copying tons of material distributed to the refugees (like asylum info in the EU, maps of routes, migrant dictionaries of the most common words etc) and other costs like electricity, refreshments for volunteers etc.

I have attached some photos of the Belgrade info park and there is also a Facebook page. Although the refugee coverage in the media is not as full on as it was in September, I can assure you that the situation is even worse and even more complicated than before.  Last week Gordan was at the camp on the Serbian/Croatian border and sent me an email saying:  

‘It's the worst time of the crisis so far, we had several extremely hard days in mud, water and cold with thousands of people stranded on no-man’s land between Serbia and Croatia as everyone is trying to make their struggle even more difficult.’ 

This horrific situation at the camp can be seen in this video on the Info-Park Facebook page, but it is difficult viewing.

I hope you agree with me that Info-Park is making a huge and practical impact on the ground, and is worthy of our donation.  I am proud that we can make such a huge difference in such a personal and direct way to thousands of refugees, people just like you and me, who are struggling.  Thank you so much for your support.

Gordan will continue to send me updates and I will pass them on.

cheers,

Sydney 

Original Post

Like you, I have seen the distressing images in the media of Refugees fleeing from war torn countries like Syria.  But when I landed in Budapest on Tuesday and travelled to Serbia, where I am visiting a social enterprise called Terra Panonica, I came face to face with the actual human beings themselves. And as a friend of mine said so aptly, suddenly it's very real instead of a far off issue that you only see on TV.

It is the biggest migration of refugees since the end of the Second World War.  On Tuesday I watched hundreds and hundreds of desperate families travelling on foot - carrying nothing but babies in their arms and leading small weary children by the hand, urging each other on while looking exhausted, hungry and desperate.   I have honestly never seen anything like it in my life. 

This email is not about the politics of the situation, it’s about me being on the ground right now in Serbia and wanting to do something to help.

Near to where I am staying, there is a square where refugees stop to camp for a night or two.  The people there are in need of basics like nappies, baby food, water, food, rain ponchos, plasters, etc. 

Before I leave Serbia on Sunday I want to take care parcels of these things to distribute in the square to as many people as I can.  The staff here at Terra Panonica will help me.  I know it’s a small drop in a huge ocean of misery, but at least it’s something practical and tangible that we can do to help bring some relief and humanity to at least a few people.  I would like to try to distribute about 100 parcels.

I am going to put in £100 and I hope that you will contribute something too. I will buy and distribute as much as I can from whatever we raise, and any money left over will be distributed to aid agencies on the ground.  Please donate before Saturday so I have enough time to buy and distribute before Sunday.  Branimir who runs Terra Panonica will match anything we raise up to £500.   

I’ve pasted some photos below.  These are not ones I have taken, but they are from the region I’m in and they are the scenes I am seeing.

If you can make a donation before Saturday, then that will give me time to purchase and distribute supplies before I leave. I hope you will find it in your heart to help. 

Thanks.  x

ps - Please note that in the interest of time I have used the Conservatoire’s Just Giving account as the fiscal receiver, but ALL money will go towards the Refugee effort.  This is my own personal project as Sydney, but the Conservatoire is generously acting as the fiscal receiver, which it is legally allowed to do and will in no way financially benefit from your donation.   Thank you to the Conservatoire for doing what it can to help to bring relief to the refugees.