The Security-scape and the (In)Visibility of Refugees: Managing Refugee Flow through Croatia

The article analyses certain aspects of the exceptional migration process unfolding in Europe from the middle of September to the beginning of November, 2015. It focuses on analysis of managing that migration in Croatia through the presentation of the functioning of the reception (and transit) centre at Opatovac. A qualitative ethnographic and anthropological research approach has been applied. The ethnographic perspective offers a complex view of responses to the events, pointing out the paradoxes in refugee reception and transit migration management in Croatia. It is established that there are constant contradictions contained in the nexus of security and humanitarian demands in the migration process management, these largely coming to the fore because of a lack of international co-operation and a firm stance and common policy on the part of the EU. In that way, the EU has contributed to the deepening of the humanitarian migration crisis, but also demonstrated its deep value crisis.