to tackle the unprecedented numbers of
people risking their lives to enter its
borders
europe is spending hundreds of millions
of euros to fortify its frontiers
foreign
like a criminal
bulgaria is europe's poorest country in
2013
from just a few hundred entries a year
more than 11 000 migrants and refugees
crossed into bulgaria from turkey many
fleeing war
in syria and afghanistan
unprecedented wave of refugees coincided
with the completion of greece's 3
million euro anti-migrant fence
sealing off its land border with turkey
once a major gateway into europe
since then increasing numbers of
migrants and refugees
have entered through bulgaria instead
we had arranged to meet with
commissioner stoyanov of the bulgarian
border police
to find out more about
is this the area where 8 000 people
crossed last year
control
how often do you detect people coming in
here
do you see people only when they're just
by the fence or can you catch them
before
taking a cue from greece in tackling
migration
bulgaria had just completed its own
three million euro razor wire fence
spanning the 33 kilometers of its border
with turkey
where most migrants and refugees used to
cross
once migrants and refugees make it into
bulgaria
under eu law they have to be processed
and accommodated
to avoid this just like in greece
bulgaria relies heavily on collaborating
with turkey
to stop people before they reach the
european border
the fence itself is just a final
obstacle
initially it contributed to an overall
drop in migration
but towards the end of 2014 migrants
found new entryways
and numbers went up again
the eu has condemned both the greek and
bulgarian fences
and even europe's external border agency
front tax
seems critical border control is
not the solution for regular migration
this is just a
very small piece of the puzzle
managing migration encompasses many
other issues
developing in the countries of region
and in the countries of transit
and re-admission agreements with the
countries of region
border management alone will not solve
the problem of the
regular migration despite the verbal
reprimands
bulgaria's decision to build a fence has
not
impacted on the eu funds it receives to
tackle migration
which since 2007 amounts to 137 million
euros or on frontex
sending joint operations to the area we
met up with one of their patrols
you're now patrolling together you've
been doing that for two weeks
is it efficient for you to be able to
work together like this
do you think it's good yeah it's not
perfect
it's for me it's really perfect and do
you find it helpful
for your work as well
the provoir
how many european borders have you been
to with frontex
do a lot of people come through the
forest in this moment now
this moment is quiet what's their sort
of feeling when they get caught they're
ready
about this they're ready that they will
cross illegal they know that they cross
in ligo
the problem is with the children and the
woman they're afraid
it's no good place for them
it's not only the bulgarian border
police that was caught off guard by a
more than seven fold increase in
migration
the migrant reception centers were
completely unprepared
after taking the risk of crossing the
border refugees have faced deplorable
conditions in overcrowded camps
often lacking even the most basic
facilities
the focus of much criticism has been the
refugee camp at harmony
close to the border with turkey
in 2013 many refugees complained that
the conditions in the camp
were worse than what they left behind in
war-torn syria
in the middle of the winter they found
themselves living in
unfinished buildings or rotting tents
without heating or hot water
and a shortage of both food and staff
however when we arrived it seemed like
conditions at the camp had improved
so now we're going to meet a guy who
lives in in this container village
within the camp and
he's been here for almost a year now
welcome thank you
i'm malone i'm robert
is this what you got for lunch today
what is your experience of having lived
a whole year
in a refugee camp in bulgaria
foreign
we're gonna meet the director of the
campaign
um
is how many people arrive now every day
is that less than what it used to be
chatter kidney track
the brand new facilities with the
kitchen to feed up to 6 000 people
were surprising to say the least clearly
bulgaria was preparing to house a large
number of migrants
we went to take a look at one of the
older buildings
the conditions in here are very
different from the new buildings
things are broken everything is dirty
many migrants in human rights
organizations have reported that
bulgarian border police
have pushed people back to turkey which
is illegal
there are also allegations of excessive
violence
both of which bulgaria denies were you
able to
enter bulgaria the first time you tried
do a lot of your friends have stories
like this
although most refugees hope to continue
to other european countries
with more opportunities they find
themselves trapped
in europe's poorest country this is
because of the eu's dublin regulation
that requires migrants to be processed
and apply for asylum
in the first eu country they enter so
what are the different functions in this
camp
the sector
this is a product so if anybody applies
for asylum here
and you have your fingerprints
registered here
and they go to say germany or sweden
they will have to come back here
this little box defines which eu state a
refugee can reside in
if your fingerprints are taken in
bulgaria then you can't live
in countries like sweden or germany
where there are better prospects for
migrants
and you'll be deported back to bulgaria
if you try
the only exception to the dublin rule is
if the country you entered
doesn't meet the minimum standards for
migrant reception
which could be why the eu is investing
to improve this bulgarian camp
because as of now germany for example
doesn't send people back to bulgaria
because of the bad conditions
with my photo signed by the camp
director we left to check out the rest
of the camp
we're going to meet a yazidi family who
very recently had to flee
from syria because of a crackdown of the
fighters of the islamic state
so they just showed me a video about of
how
islamic state fighters just round up the
yazidis during their
underwear they marched them and then the
last picture was just
all of these guys we saw walking in a
pile
having been executed
this
we see the new building and it's look
good but we don't know
to home this building and what is the
agreement for this building
is it to live permanently there or just
for a temporary what happens
when you can no longer stay in the camp
there is no job
no work no home no house no health care
what happens i will be in the street
because no one who will support me and
they cannot support myself because most
of my
saving is gone so that i will come here
to europe
to save my life
they're only allowed to stay in the
camps until their asylum is granted
after that they're left to fend for
themselves
many live below the poverty line or end
up homeless
whether granted refugee status were
there illegally
we're in a derelict building where
migrants stay
if they have to leave the nearby camp
called ofcha couple
and apparently they call it the
we sleep in the ritz they catch us and
they tell us that next time
they catch us they have right to keep us
in close cup
it's not easy you see these conditions
like a crazy man but we are not crazy
and have many dreams many future but
existing
rubbish industry i'm here sleeping in
this condition like
crazy man because of what i'm coming
here illegal and the person who come
here illegally
they treat us like a criminal and the
politic is
very very hard because
you sleep here this is my baggage and
my thing that i have my scp
is my back and i usually feel two person
and
one two three four six when they sleep
here
you suffer here you go they bring you
back why doubling low you have to check
why how the people live here
before they say this dublin law
what you are starting to see is an
impact of dublin that even the member
states
are starting to recognize that the
system really doesn't work
you see there are differences in the way
the same groups are treated in different
member states
the policies and the practices the
current policies and practices of the
european union
really support this concept of
creating a fortress here
in january 2015 bulgaria announced
that an additional 130 kilometers would
be added to the fence
to barricade almost the entirety of its
land border with turkey
for the thousands of migrants and
refugees already in bulgaria
the dublin regulation acts as a
bureaucratic wall
that prevents them from finding a better
quality of life
elsewhere in europe
alvarez
foreign