Tag Archives: Croatia

Croatia Closes Borders to Migrants

Croatia said Friday they are closing their borders to migrants after a wave of people overwhelmed their border personnel.

Croatian officials said all migrants will be forced to move through the nation to other countries and will not be allowed to remain on Croatian soil.  The government said they will provide food and water to those who arrive but then immediately will make them leave.

“We cannot register and accommodate these people any longer,” Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic told a news conference.  “They will get food, water and medical help, and then they can move on. The European Union must know that Croatia will not become a migrant ‘hotspot’. We have hearts, but we also have heads.”

Over 11,000 migrants flooded into the country since Hungary closed their border with Serbia on Wednesday.

Many of the migrants are telling western media they have no choice but to continue.

“Returning back to our country is impossible, because we have no financial means or the moral strength to go back home,” Abu Mohamed who fled Idlib in Syria, told The Associated Press.

“We are coming with our modest Islamic perspectives,” he added. “Terrorism remains back home, terrorism is not coming with us. We were the victims and oppressed back home in our societies.”

Croatia Dissolves All Debt For Poor

Poor residents of Croatia is going to breathe easier on Monday when the government cancels all debt.

The move by the government is aimed to “kickstart the nation’s economy”

Any citizen earning under $184 U.S. dollars a month, rent their property and unable to pay off debts will get up to $5,146 wiped away.  Power companies, loan brokers, banks and phone companies are part of the businesses that will have to swallow the losses.

“We are doing all we can to make people’s lives easier in this protracted and strenuous crisis and give them a chance for a fresh start,” Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said in a press conference.

Officials estimate that 60,000 Croatians will be receiving debt relief under the plan.  The action will cost creditors as much as $309 million U.S. according to estimates.

Croatia has been suffering from a massive recession for seven years.