Moroccan Migrants Increasingly Use Balkan Route to Reach EU, Bypassing Mediterranean

Istanbul, one of the major cities in Turkey, is the starting point for Moroccan candidates for illegal immigration. Then the course is set for the Balkans route. They cross Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and finally try to cross the border into Slovenia, the first Balkan country in the Schengen area.

In total, 318 Moroccans tried to cross the Slovenian border in 2018 compared to 952 this year (as of September 30), an increase of more than 65% in one year, reports the Info Migrants website.

The statistics also indicate that Moroccans (952) are in 4th position among the most numerous migrants to attempt to cross into Slovenia in 2019. Pakistanis (3,012) are at the top of the pack. Algerians (1,593) are in second place while Afghans (1,263) are in third position.

A 33-year-old Moroccan explains his choice: "The smugglers were asking me for more than 5,000 euros. I didn’t have them" whereas "going through the Balkans costs me almost nothing. I made the trip alone, hidden under a bus to get here [to Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital]." His wish, he says, is to join part of his family living in Bordeaux, France.

While things seem easier for this young Moroccan, this is not the case for his compatriot Miloud. The latter had a sad experience. "They mistreated us, threw tear gas bombs at us. They cut off the water and electricity. There were young people suffocating, Moroccans and Algerians," this detainee in a Greek prison recounts.