Portion of concrete brick wall

This fragment of wall is all that remains of the “Barracks” in Belgrade, abandoned industrial warehouses behind the central train station that, between 2016 and 2017, became one of the most emblematic symbols of the Balkan route. In less than a year, more than two thousand people, mostly young men from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria, lived there, stranded in their attempts to cross the border into Hungary. They were exposed to the harsh Balkan winter, with no heating, no running water, no sanitary services.

And yet, that place was not only a space of survival. Over time, it also became a space of connection. Volunteers from across Europe chose to be there, alongside those who lived in the Barracks: kitchens, showers, and chemical toilets were set up, and with organizations such as Hot Food Idomeni and No Name Kitchen, together with Serbian citizens, something was built that went beyond assistance. Even the walls were transformed, painted, marked with signs and words, to affirm that there were people there, not numbers.

On one of those walls, the words Open the Border appeared. They were signed “Yahma”, a name that echoes the Arabic word for “dove”, a symbol of peace and welcome. It is not just a signature; it is a claim to voice. A direct demand from someone who experienced that border on their own skin.

In May 2017, the Serbian government ordered the eviction and demolition of the Barracks. Hundreds of people were once again left with nothing, or transferred to government-run centers designed more to contain than to welcome, to stop the “game”. Shortly before everything was erased, the organization One Bridge To recovered this fragment of wall, saving it from total destruction.