To mark the World Refugee Day celebrated on June 20, civil society organisations on Wednesday called for more efforts to create an inclusive society, and a better quality refugee integration policy.

Several NGOs involved in caring for refugees held a news conference to raise awareness of the role of the local community in supporting the integration of refugees, emphasising that meeting people is the best remedy to counter the prejudices towards strangers.

Kristina Samardzic of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Croatia said that, on World Refugee Day, we have to ask ourselves as individuals and as members of our local community what we can do to provide support to our new friends and people in our homeland.

She said that current EU policy is to tightly control the borders, while she called on people to “open the borders of their hearts,” and to nurture the culture of meeting these people.

NGOs have been warning for years of the absence of a comprehensive refugee integration system. The measures that are being implemented satisfy minimum conditions, while refugee integration is not seen as a prerequisite for a healthy society.

Lea Horvat of the Centre for Peace Studies called on state institutions to develop an integration policy that would be in accordance with the real needs of refugees as well as the local communities they come to.

It is necessary to systematically inform the community and work on providing support in developing local integration policies, including them in the decision-making process, and to continually educate the local community in order to raise awareness of the benefits of integration and interculturalism.

Antonija Potocki of the Are Your Syrious? NGO said that refugees currently have no other choice except to illegally cross borders. She called on institutions to ensure safe passage without police violence.

Croatian police frequently use force against migrants, who are a particularly vulnerable group, she said, adding that protecting the border should not be a priority.

Follow N1 via mobile apps for Android | iPhone/iPad | Windows| and social media on Twitter | Facebook.