Migrants want to cross the Alps on foot: "Hope has disappeared"

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You have already covered hundreds of kilometers on foot when you arrive here in northern Italy at the foot of the Alps.

Despite the snow and cold, migrants, most of whom came to Italy via the Balkan route, are currently making their way over the mountains to France or Austria.

Ahmad Al-Rousan / Doctors Without Borders

“

We're here on the border between Italy and France at the foot of a mountain path.

A few minutes ago we saw an Afghan family who had walked here with several children.

They are trying to cross the mountain.

This is just part of their journey that began a long time ago.

You have already crossed many countries.

With children, in this weather, this trip is very difficult.

We hope that they will make it because it is their goal in life

. "

The situation for refugees in Italy is precarious.

As here in Bolzano, many live on the streets, under motorway bridges, only equipped with the bare essentials.

Dialla from Guinea

“I've been here in Bolzano for 18 months.

The police have my papers.

I can't find a job without papers.

No apartment without a job.

I am trapped here.

I sleep on the street by the river.

It is not easy.

It's really cold by the river.

It's hard to cook food or take a shower here.

It is impossible.

We worked as harvest workers, but nothing is being harvested at the moment.

There were jobs for two or three months.

My life has to change. "

Migrants also live under adverse conditions in the northern Italian city of Trieste, just a few kilometers from the border.

All over the city, they live on the streets, marked by the rigors of their long journey.

And again and again some refugees report to the aid organizations of humiliation and injuries by the border police.

Umar from Pakistan

“They stopped me twice in Slovenia.

Another time in Zagreb, often in the border areas.

The last time they burned me and said I should never be seen in Croatia again.

I've been here for a year now, but my injuries haven't healed.

Some doctors say my leg may even need to be amputated.

Others believe that I'll have problems with it all my life.

I am very worried because I can no longer achieve my goal.

I will not be able to support my family in Pakistan. "

The Croatian authorities deny these so-called pushbacks, but refugees have been reporting for years that the border police in Croatia are mistreating them and forcing them back.

NGOs, doctors and the UN refugee agency have compiled thousands of such testimonies.

The corona crisis makes things even more difficult.

Italian aid agencies such as Caritas have seen around twice as many people turn to them for help since the beginning of the pandemic.

At the same time, many advice centers can only be reached to a limited extent due to Corona.

Christian Papini / Head of Caritas in Ventimiglia

“Many of the volunteers are elderly.

Because of Corona, we told them to stay at home.

The number of volunteers is decreasing.

The refugees are tired.

In 2016 you could still see a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

But now hope is gone.

And what happens if the corona infections continue to rise again? "

After the transit camp in Ventimiglia was closed, the migrants and refugees now live on the streets.

Most without access to running water or heat.

Piero Gorza / anthropologist

“Whole families come here.

You come from Iran, Kurdistan or Afghanistan.

For this way they have incurred debts that they want to pay off.

You want to get out of here as quickly as possible.

And that means they have to get over the mountains.

Now in winter they have to be careful not to get lost.

And if your feet get wet at 15 degrees below zero, you risk your life.

There are many helpful people here.

Some go to the mountains to help the refugees.

That doesn't mean that you support illegal immigration.

It's like throwing life jackets to people in distress. "

How many people will make their way over the mountains these days is unclear.