“Rats are the first to escape from sinking a boat. We are those rats of the biggest ship sinking. Rats never return to sunken boats. He who is underwater stays there forever,” says Abdallah Samir, a 34-year-old Syrian doctor. Flee Raqqqa with her family and, dressed elegantly, seek a taxi in the streets of Presevo (Serbia) that will take you to Croatia. In his words, “we have money and we also have passports. We arrived in Greece pushed by the police and the Turkish mafia. We were not allowed to stay in Turkey. We left Raqqqa and when we crossed the border they left us in a van and put us directly on the boat of Lesbos. We forcibly pay EUR 1,500.” He added that “the Turkish police and the mafia were helping each other, they were giving cigarettes.” He has confessed that he wants to reach Norway or Sweden with his wife and two young children. “I think too many people in my country are going to accumulate in Germany. I distrust my neighbours. They're going to create problems, and that can create racism against those of us who haven't done anything. I don’t want to go where the Arabs are!” the young doctor added.

Few think, however, of Abdallah. Most of those affected have fled the conflicts in Syria and Iraq in recent years. Solo or family. “We didn’t think we could move from Turkey to any other place, but in the camp in Suruc (a town in southern Turkey) we saw Turkish television and there, seeing Germany’s aid to the poor and foreigners, we thought it would be lawful to try it like many others,” said Asiaha Halil, a 47-year-old Kurdish Syrian woman. “In Suruce, the Turkish mafia told us that getting to Lesbos on the boat was a matter of 20 minutes and that the police wouldn’t ask us for any role. We were promised to be in Greece for EUR 100 per person,” explains Asiaha, born in Koban. “That was not the case, and after taking away many of our bags, we were asked for EUR 2,000 per family. In the end, we had to pay 1,200 euros to a police officer who did brokering work.” She is followed by her husband, a Christian named Ismael. He carries a crucifix on his neck; “I had to become a captain without having any experience. Every two minutes the engine went off and the sea dragged us adrift. When we turned on the engine, we still had two more minutes until it turned off again. Time was on the rise and five hours later we were rescued by a Greek boat. Since then, those of us who don't have money from one side to the other have been taking us as cattle. It’s a gift, but seen as we are, you’ll easily understand why people treat us like cattle,” Ishmael said.

Invisibility among peoples

Most of the Presevos are Muslims and have an Albanian, non-Serbian origin, and they are Muslims. It is a farming village of 12,000 inhabitants that borders Macedonia and Kosovo. However, it has a very special feature and the Serbian police know it very well. “What he commands here is the Mafia, the Albanian Kosovar Mafia,” says Mikhail, the young police officer he has brought from Belgrade. When he takes the money he wants to move somewhere else, though he still doesn't know where. “We cannot cope with this wave of refugees. Yesterday, between 4,000 and 5,000 people gathered in this street and when they started pushing them, the fence in front of them collapsed and killed three people. It is the fault of the mafias. They await them on the border with Macedonia with the car and give them false papers for EUR 50 per person. When they're behind the line, they think they can move forward with those roles. But that's not the case. Almost everyone has the same false roles, and then there are clashes between people from different backgrounds. We cannot do anything here, except relax when the environment is mixed. Furthermore, Macedonia does not even tell us how much they come officially,” added Mikhail, after looking at the line and sighting. This is a statement which highlights the resentment among the peoples of the Balkans. The Croatian Government, through the Minister of the Interior, Ranko Ostojic, assured him that Serbia does not tell him how many refugees will reach the border, and that this leads to discoordination at the borders.

Juan Carlos of the Non-Governmental Organization Remar del Estado Español has worked in this place where the mafias move: "Refugees entering from Macedonia enter the land of a Mafia leader. We do not know who decided to do so, but by train they could reach the centre of Presevo. On the contrary, they stay 10 kilometers away next to a private plot. There, the workers of that head of the Mafia deceive the refugees, and then comes what comes. There is nothing to do if you do not go against the Mafia”, the Madrilenian Juan Carlos laments.

In the vicinity of Presevo, the Kosovar Albanian Mafia is stronger than the government. Anyone who takes a path from the people to Macedonia will see the large luxury mansions. It can be said that it is like the Neguri district of Getxo, with one difference: all the houses are empty. According to a pastor who doesn't mean a name, "With the money they've brought from the outside, they make these houses to clean the money out of their pocket. They also buy expensive cars, but then they live in places like Germany and France. They come here when they finish their jobs or release them from jail.”

"After Presevo we don't know where we're going, but we hope it's better than here," said Sirius Mohamed at a press conference. This man, from Homs, says he should separate the refugees according to the nation and sex, “so that there are no problems or see better.” Membership of the same line of Iranians, Afghans, Syrians, Iraqis, etc. causes disturbances. They accuse each other of their situation and in many parts of the continental route there have been fights and arrests. “Among them there is also a lot of racism. Syrians behave quite well, but with Afghans we always have problems. They don’t want to stay in line, if they say anything they use violence against you,” says Israel’s young volunteer Remar. The Serbian police Mikhail, for its part, says otherwise: "Syrians and Iraqis are the ones who are giving the most trouble. They think they are more than other refugees and they tell you this way: I am Sunni and other Shiites, I should be first.”

Presevo has become an example of most of the problems that arise on the continental route: sectarian problems, mafias, overflowing institutions, etc. Being Muslim the majority of the people, there are no volunteer collaborators, “they are all from outside here, we have not yet managed to talk to the local authorities, nor have we seen any inhabitant here working” said the coordinator of the NGO Doctors Without Borders, the French Sebastien Army. “The situation is not good, and less bad time. Winter is usually hard here and I don’t know what will happen when it comes,” he added.