Two alleged migrants which an elderly lady “caught” in a Samobor store recently were actually employees of the Rimac Automobili company, where they worked with a residence and a work permit. Samobor Mayor Krešo Beljak denied the fake news being spread on the social networks that the Samobor region is besieged by migrant groups, reports Jutarnji List on November 8, 2018.
The fear of unknown and increasingly unwanted migrants from the east has turned into a hysteria in the last several days. Everything started with migrant protests and the blockade of the Maljevac border crossing. Although more than 6,000 migrants have passed through Croatia to Slovenia in recent months, the only criminal offenses they committed in the Karlovac area are breaking and entry into abandoned houses in search of a shelter (with the exception of one attempted attack on a policeman). However, on social networks, Croatian women are warned not to wear short shirts because they will allegedly be raped and their partners slaughtered.
One woman reported the news that near the Plitvice Lakes National Park six migrants raped a 13-year-old girl, which was allegedly told her by a waitress in Slunj. However, the news is completely false.
There are also no serious criminal offenses in the Una-Sana Canton in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina where the largest Balkan migrant hot spot is located. The vast majority of the 300 criminal offenses which were committed by migrants there refer to property crimes. There were one murder and one rape, but both of these terrible offenses were committed by the same man, an Algerian, and in both cases, the victims were other migrants.
With the blockade of the border in the Karlovac region, migrants are turning to the south in an attempt to reach Slovenia, seeking a softer border to enter Croatia. This is why a new route is being created through Croatia, going from Lika and to Gorski Kotar.
Local media reported that two migrants have entered the centre of Gospić and also published statements by anxious citizens of Lika. In the village of Kosa, a report allegedly found a person who has discovered 12 migrants, “but has refused to speak on the record due to the fear.”
The police are trying to calm down the tensions by issuing statements, but they have no effect. The locals have a hard time realising that the two Afghans whom they saw walking in Gospić entered Croatia legally and stayed in a local hotel for several days because they came to visit their cousin, a migrant smuggler, who was arrested and is now in prison.
Tomislav J. from Otočac almost ended up as the main story in the national news when he wanted to describe how a group of migrants had beaten him, but it turned out that he was drunk and came up with the story to explain to his employer why he was late for work. The police have said that they have reported him for “spreading fake news which disturbs the peace of citizens.” This is the first such report resulting from the migrant crisis hysteria.
According to the information of the Lika police, they have registered 228 illegal migrants and arrested some 30 smugglers. There has been no increase in the number of thefts. In fact, this year there has been only 333 thefts committed, which is 146 fewer than in the same period last year. There is just one case linked to migrants; an Algerian stole a bicycle in Korenica.
However, the fake news continues.
For more on the migrant crisis, click here.
Translated from Jutarnji List (reported by Mario Pušić).
