Charity begins at… Frontex
Working for
Frontex as a standing corps officer is not the same as working for
Frontex at headquarters. Every day, Frontex officers deal with
colleagues and people arriving from different corners of the world. A
border crossing is not their destination, but as the name rightly
suggests it becomes a place where their paths intersect. Sometimes for a
minute, sometimes for a day. Some migrants will show their documents
and continue on their journey, and others will wait longer for
clearance, but there are more complicated cases – the undocumented
migrants and the refugees. The guards are often the first ones to greet
them.
And then there are also border-area communities,
which witness the migratory flows on a daily basis. They are also the
first ones to notice migrants and often understand the border as well as
the guards. All of them, the border guards, the migrants, and the local
communities are inter-related and, to some extent, depend on each
other. Where Miha was deployed, he was always able to see ‘beyond the
border’ and realise that his job as a Frontex officer was also to know
the local community and their needs.
“We all need help
at some point in life. I'm no different. With the war in Croatia, the
path of my life changed overnight. As a 5-year-old child, I became a
refugee and discovered a cruel world of social impotence. Someone always
needs help out there. That could mean a soft, warm hug; it could be
just a smile. Often, it's about a soothing voice or a tap on the
shoulder. Since I am very sensitive socially, I want to change how
people perceive ‘someone dressed in a uniform’. We aren’t all macho
types, not at all! That’s a great big NO-NO! The reality is very, very
far from this.”
In practice, getting to know the local
communities is what Miha has done since day one of his deployment. He
is always forging connections with people. His colleagues always joke
that “everyone knows Miha”. When he walks the streets, everybody greets
him. One of the reasons for this is that Miha likes to adapt quickly and
to feel the beating heart of the place where he is deployed.
“In
my last 2 years of service with Frontex, I laid the groundwork for a
couple of charities. The first one was in Albania. Together with other
standing corps officers and border guards, we helped five of the poorest
local families just a few days before Christmas by providing them with
food and school equipment. The second charity was in Greece. We provided
equipment for a school for kids with special needs.”
All
done in his free time, but not without a tangible gain for the service.
Once you know the border community and its problems, you also begin to
understand the migrants at that border crossing, and it is this
human-to-human practical psychology that develops professional, savvy
border guard team members.
Frontex is strong because
of its people. Slowly but surely, its presence is becoming more visible.
After two years of gathering experiences, now is the time to hear their
stories. Each will be different. Each will have Frontex at its heart.
“When we wear our uniform,” concludes Miha, “we all look the same but inside we are totally unique and different.”
