Two separate incidents reported in the north of the country illustrated the anti-migrant mood in Serbia this week.

A migrant traveling from Belgrade to the city of Sombor, along a route used by migrants to get to Hungary or Croatia, was refused a seat on a bus even though he had a ticket. A young man sitting on the adjacent seat refused to allow the migrant to sit next to him even though he had a ticket with a seat number, the Autonomija portal report, adding that the driver of the bus refused to intervene. The young man invited a woman to sit next to him and the migrant was forced to travel sitting on steps at the bus door.  

In a separate incident, residents of the northern city of Subotica, which lies close to the border with Hungary, were invited by administrators of the United Citizens of Subotica Facebook group to attend a protest on February 29 against the settling of migrants in the city and the rest of Serbia, the Vojvodina Research Analytical Center (VOICE) reported.  

The Facebook post said that they “do not want the authorities to settle migrants in Serbia”.  

VOICE reported that the Facebook group members posted an anti-migrant Youtube video earlier this month which was removed because it included hate speech and false claims. The video warned of what it said was a flood of Islamic extremists in Europe, claiming that Jihadi warriors would be brought to Serbia.