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Repetitions, platitudes, calming of tensions, all talks about migrants between European officials and representatives of the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), are indeed always similar. Where will migrants go from spring? Will there be new reception centers? Who should bear the burden of the crisis that affected primarily the Una-Sana Canton (USC)? There are still no answers to these questions.

BiH needs to strengthen its capacity in order to manage the migrant crisis. BiH cannot be a country where illegal migrants will stay long. These two opposing views are persistently heard in the European Union (EU) and our country. After Bihac, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs had three meetings in Sarajevo. They passed without concrete plans and solutions.

BiH must develop better and stronger capacities at the state level for migration management. Also, the whole country must take responsibility for that, said Ylva Johansson, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs.

BiH is ready to be a partner, but BiH cannot be the hostage of the migrant crisis and BiH is not ready to be a dormitory for migrants, said Zoran Tegeltija, chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers.

And even though the officials from the Union and one part of the representatives of the authorities in BiH would like for the Republika Srpska (RS) to open reception centers, the others do not want them on RS territory at any cost.

Why did you agree to open the borders, apparently you are more humane, and we are not humane, but how will you respond to EU countries that do not want to accept migrants? What about them, are they democratic countries, are they humane? Europe has produced migrants, let them draw them to themselves, Milorad Dodik, the President of the SNSD stated.

The citizens of USC, as they say, suffer a lot because of the quarrels at the state level, but also because of the unwillingness of the EU to let migrants within its borders. According to the Prime Minister of USC, this canton will continue to bear the burden of the migrant crisis, but not as much as before.

We have clearly determined the quotas, the number of migrants that the USC can handle, the number of camps. Political will must be created to break the migrant route in BiH, and to open camps throughout BiH, said Mustafa Ruznic, the Prime Minister of the USC.

The European Commission recently announced the official position that explains how our country treats migrants could negatively affect its efforts to reach candidate status. BiH is criticized for its inhumanity in its treatment of migrants, and the brutality of the Croatian police is often ignored. Neither the BiH nor the EU approach can be seen as a permanent solution to a problem that will certainly not be taken away by hand and which does not suit migrants, the government, and ultimately the citizens of this country, BHRT writes.

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Even after the Visit of Ylva Johansson, there are no specific Solutions - Sarajevo Times

Refugees and migrants trapped along the Balkans migration route, including some 500 unaccompanied children and 400 children with family who are currently in Bosnia and Herzegovina, are facing increased risks from smugglers, traffickers and border authorities.

Tighter border controls and pushbacks, both at the EU border and between EU countries, have led to an increase in violence and other abuses against children and other vulnerable people, Save the Children warned today.

As EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson visits Bosnia and Albania to assess the situation of migrants in the border areas of Croatia and Greece, Save the Children calls on the EU to ensure child protection measures are implemented immediately for all migrant children.

The agency urged that ongoing reforms of the EU migration legislation, especially on the sharing of responsibilities, will address the suffering of children who are in search of safety and, often, reunification with family members already living in Europe.

"Pushbacks of migrants, including unaccompanied minors and families with children, happen not only at the borders of the EU, but also between Member States", said Anita Bay Bundegaard, Director of Save the Children Europe. "It is vital that the EU and its Member States put an end to illegal pushbacks and at the same time prioritise child protection at its borders. The EU needs to implement procedures that guarantee a proper age assessment and ensure the protection of children, and it must allow regular, independent monitoring mechanisms for the reporting of incidents that are accessible by children."

The EU Commisioner is visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the key transit countries on the Balkans migration route. In BiH, hundreds of identified unaccompanied children and children with families are currently sheltered in reception centres, while over 2,300 people, including children, are sleeping rough or in inadequate conditions. According to Save the Children, there may be minors that are not (yet) identified, as proper age assessment procedures are lacking.

"The EU Commission should continue to provide humanitarian support in BiH and demand concrete results from the authorities", Anita Bay Bundegaard added.* "At the same time, the EU and its members must take concrete steps to provide safe and regular pathways to Europe for refugees and migrants, ensure access to asylum and protection services and share the responsibility for the migration crisis."*

As EU institutions and members are reforming EU legislation on migration, they need to address the worst and very widespread consequences of the current rules, including bottlenecks at the EU borders" recommends Anita Bay Bundegaard. "This opportunity should not be missed. Improving the legislation on migration can help avoid more children's suffering and risks of violence, trafficking and exploitation they are currently facing."

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Hundreds of unaccompanied minors and children with families are trapped on Balkans facing pushbacks, trafficking and exploitation - Bosnia and...

The president of the humanitarian organization Merhamet MDD Kenan Vrbanjac and the directors of Merhamets regional committees in BiH visited the migrants in the Lipa camp near Bihac and distributed food and clothing on the occasion of the 108th anniversary of Merhamet. Migrants were given breakfast, fruit, underwear, undershirts and socks. According to Vrbanjc, Merhamet, in coordination with the Red Cross of Una-Sana Canton, regularly helps migrants in the Lipa camp.

With todays action and visit to the Lipa camp, we wanted to mark the 108th anniversary of the founding of the Muslim charity Merhamet. All of Merhamets regional and basic committees throughout BiH are marking this important anniversary with appropriate actions during February, Vrbanjac said.

President of Merhamet emphasized that this humanitarian organization, after the latest escalation of the migrant crisis in BiH, ie in Bihac, has so far provided assistance for migrants in the Lipa camp in the value of more than 100,000 BAM. Merhamet distributed aid to the migrants, which consisted of meals, bottled water, juices, tea, dates, then blankets, underwear, undershirts, socks, raincoats and hygiene products. Vrbanjac pointed out that Merhamet has been involved in helping this population since the beginning of the migrant crisis in BiH.

By preparing meals, distributing clothes, shoes, blankets and hygiene items, Merhamet helped migrants in Una-Sana Canton, Tuzla, Sarajevo and Mostar. Before that, while the migrant wave had not yet hit our country, we were helping migrants in Serbia, even in Croatia. Also, for six years in a row, Merhamet has been helping migrants and Syrian refugees on the Turkish-Syrian border, for which he has so far delivered about 700,000 kilograms of meat. The value of that assistance amounted to more than 7 million KM , Vrbanjac pointed out.

He added that Merhamet, according to its capabilities, will continue to help migrants. He reminded that Merhamet feeds 8,000 socially endangered citizens in its 30 kitchens and their checkpoints every day, and that taking care of migrants is an additional expense for this humanitarian organization. However, as he concluded, Merhamet will not give up on helping the needy who have currently found refuge in Bosnia and Herzegovina, BHRT writes.

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Humanitarian Organization Merhamet distributed Clothes and Food to Migrants - Sarajevo Times

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany and France are making a new effort to resolve an impasse over the development of a joint fighter jet, Europes biggest defence project that has led to tensions between Berlin and Paris, security and industry sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron and others attend the unveiling of the French-German-Spanish new generation fighter model during a visit to the 53rd International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, June 17, 2019. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Pool/File Photo

At an estimated cost of more than 100 billion euros, the venture brings together Germany, France and Spain to forge a future weapons system that is seen as the heart of a deepening European defence cooperation.

Dassault Aviation , Airbus and Indra are supposed to build the aircraft, which is expected to be operational from 2040 with a view to replacing Frances Rafale and Germanys Eurofighter warplanes over time.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron kicked off the ambitious venture in 2017, when the EU was rattled by Britains decision to leave the bloc and deeply divided over other issues such as the migrant crisis.

But the project has run into difficulties due to mistrust and differing visions between Berlin and Paris as well as corporate infighting over work shares, security and industry sources told Reuters.

At the beginning of February, Merkel and Macron failed to settle the issue, thus leaving open when the next tranche of payments of at least 5 billion euros can be released, according to insiders.

On Wednesday, envoys of the defence ministries of Germany, France, Spain as well as from Dassault, Airbus and Indra met in Paris to try to resolve the impasse, security and industry sources told Reuters.

Part of the controversy revolves around intellectual property rights, and who should possess them in the end.

Before moving ahead with the venture, Germany is trying to gain more concessions from France on the issue, insiders said, adding that Berlin would like to be able to use technologies co-developed with Paris for its own projects.

One French source said Germany also aimed for intellectual property developed at national level in France, something a German source denied.

Disagreements run so deep that there are even considerations to build two demonstrators instead of just one, one source told Reuters.

A senior French parliamentary figure also expressed doubts about the projects viability, citing diverging approaches and political constraints, such as Berlins refusal to participate in combat operations abroad.

To be honest, it would be a lot easier for us to work with Britain because we share the same military culture, the MP told Reuters. Britain is running its own fighter jet program, Tempest, with Italy and Sweden.

A planned update for the Franco-German Tiger combat helicopter, costing more than 5.5 billion euros, is another bone of contention.

France is keen on the modernisation, whereas Germany is digging in, with some parts of the military not wanting the upgrade at all given the low operational readiness of the Airbus helicopter, sources told Reuters.

On Thursday, the defence ministers of France and Germany, Florence Parly and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, will have another chance to solve the row, when they are scheduled to meet virtually.

Additional reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Giles Elgood

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Berlin and Paris in crisis talks to bring fighter jet project back on track - Reuters

As the migrant crisis played out across the country during the lockdown, theatre director and playwright Aniruddha Khutwad found himself observing familiar scenes. He had met the protagonists, who came from villages to the cities and belonged to both and neither, in his plays such as Virasat. He had explored the role of the family in an individuals life in Raisins in the Sun and several other productions and studied the part played by women in society. So, when the Repertory Company of the National School of Drama (NSD) in Delhi decided to usher 2021 with a new play by Khutwad, the Pune-based director chose a stark sociopolitical work from the Marathi canon, Adhantar, to fit the times.

Written in 1993, Adhantar is about the impact of the closure of the cloth mills of Mumbai on the lives of the families who depended on it for their livelihood. I first watched it as a Marathi commercial theatre presented by the playwright Jayant Pawar in 1997. I directed the play in Marathi in 2009 and, again, in 2014 at NSD, both times as academic productions. Why have I turned to it again today as the world battles and medical and social crisis? This is because the play is, unfortunately, just as relevant now as it was 25 years ago, he says over the phone from Delhi. The play has been translated to Hindi by Kailash Sengar.

The script revolves around a lower-middle-class family of the 1980s and 90s from the chawls of Mumbais Girangaon and Lalbaug Parel. Aai is the mother to three sons and a daughter as well as the widow of a mill worker. The eldest son, Baba, has a college degree, dreams of being an author and considers getting a salaried job beneath his dignity. The second son, Mohan, did have a job once but is now applying to offices and meeting with failure every time. Naru, the youngest and uneducated, is a Bhai and a part of the Mumbai underworld. The daughter, Manju, feels suffocated by her job, her home and the society that forced her to abort after a premarital pregnancy. All of them are confined in a small room with an open toilet in a corner and a single light bulb suspended from the roof.

When the mills closed, 1.50 lakh families found themselves on the street with no food, money or employment. The aspect of COVID-19 that moved me the most was that labourers were let go overnight. While those with permanent jobs stood a chance of fighting back, the wage worker or employees on contract had nowhere to turn. Employment figures were not looking good even before the pandemic but, after the lockdown was announced, labourers had no option but to leave for their villages in large numbers. We need to take urgent measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 but the government should have looked after the lower strata as well, says Khutwad, an alumnus of NSD.

The performers in the play were unfamiliar with the politics or history of the Mumbai mills so Khutwad began the process of creating the play by using a small room, instead of a hall, for rehearsals. In this confined space, the actors internalised the pressures of being locked in with others without privacy through endless days. They evolved rituals and marked out spaces for themselves and the protagonists they play a corner with a bookshelf for one brother; a loft over the bathroom which is always dark and smelly for another; the tiny balcony for the daughter because she has no space inside the room.

We did not look at the characters as good or evil, but as people doing what they must to survive. Society is as responsible for a persons fate as that person themselves. As we worked on the play, discussing the mill culture and watching the sensitive documentary, titled Narayan Gangaram Surve, a veteran poet of Marathi literature who was a mill labourer himself, we began to see the play as events close to ourselves rather than something that happened long ago, says Khutwad.

The play unfolds in a room that set designer Rajesh Singh, with Khutwad, represents as a two-walled triangular structure to ensure audiences feel the walls closing in on the protagonists. The soundscape by Sourav Poddar represents the daily mix of traffic, mill sirens and local conversations while Motilal Khare moved around Old Delhi to find props that recalled a different decade in Marathi culture in the mills. Nalini Joshi, on costumes, worked with the cultural symbols surrounding the nine-yard sari that is worn by women in Maharashtra.

Ever since I read this play, it shook me from inside. I have no direct blood relation with the people of Girangaon, but there was a wave of empathy for them. I began to study the issue and its far-reaching effects. This is what the artistes in the play want to convey through Adhantar. We must understand the oppressed and stand with them, says Khutwad.

The play is being held at the National School of Drama in Delhi till today, 6.30 pm.

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How a Pune theatre director is commenting on the COVID-19 migrant crisis through a play on the Mumbai mills - The Indian Express