The bitter cold snap currently gripping numerous regions of central and especially eastern Europe has already claimed dozens of lives. Within just a few days, the death toll reached around a hundred, particularly in Poland, where temperatures dropped to 29 degrees below zero. But the Czech Republic and Macedonia have also had to add to the grim tally of those who have lost their lives to the cold. And among those forced to live in makeshift tents, keeping warm as best they can, are the thousands of migrants crowding the eastern borders of the European Union.

Two bodies found in a forest in Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, hardship has already turned to tragedy: the bodies of two irregular migrants of Iraqi origin were found frozen in a forest not far from the border with Turkey. They had evidently set off on foot in an attempt to leave the Eurasian country and reach the heart of the EU. Venturing out in these weather conditions, moreover, represents an enormous risk. Consider that in the mountainous areas of the Balkans the mercury dropped to -27 degrees Celsius, particularly in Bosnia and south-eastern Serbia — the very areas where thousands of migrants are still stationed today in refugee camps or improvised shelters.

This is why the organisation Human Rights Watch has sounded the alarm, accusing the Serbian authorities of having abandoned the refugees: "The government is effectively preventing NGOs from bringing aid to migrants," denounced Lydia Gall, as reported by the French broadcaster Rfi. "Médecins Sans Frontières proposed setting up special camps to cope with the winter, but no response came from Belgrade. It is only a matter of time before people start dying."

Many migrants brave the freeze for fear of deportation

At least two thousand migrants, a correspondent for the French radio station reported, have taken shelter in abandoned hangars not far from a railway station in the Serbian capital. Among them are also some underage teenagers, and at night temperatures drop to as low as 16 degrees below zero. For this reason MSF has stepped in, distributing blankets and installing heat generators to keep the temperature at least around zero. Those who survive, meanwhile, cannot wash, because the water from the only tap is frozen. The NGO records dozens of cases of skin infections every day and fears the onset of epidemics, given the extremely precarious sanitary conditions.

Despite this, few of the migrants in Serbia – mostly Afghans, Syrians and Iraqis – agree to enter the thirteen reception centres set up by the government. Some of them have been travelling for two years now, and their greatest fear is not the snow, but the prospect of being escorted by police across the eastern borders. The hangars and pavements of Belgrade, they reckon, are preferable.