Wave of EU-bound migrants cross to Serbia from Macedonia

The rush over the border on Monday came after Macedonia effectively lifted the blockade of its border with Greece on Sunday, after thousands of migrants stormed past Macedonian police who had been trying to stop their entry by force. Some small children were separated from their parents; people collapsed or staggered across with bloodied faces. The pressure that has so always been mounting over the Macedonian border has now reached the border town of Gevgelja, especially its railway station, from where the refugees can take trains or buses to the north to Serbia.

But they said they were turned back by Macedonian soldiers deployed under the emergency decree.

“Those countries [Serbia, Macedonia] already have a high rate of unemployment, so they probably are not so attractive to migrants, they probably will want to keep moving to the countries where they can potentially get work”, Doyle said.

By mid-Sunday, more than 6,000 people had crossed into Serbia where eight UN refugee agency tents were set up in the border village of Miratovac, providing food and shelter from the chilly weather, Amet Alimi, president of Presevo Red Cross, told AFP. At the least 10 individuals have been injured within the melee.

They fled areas that have seen years of conflict and political turmoil, with Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Nigeria the top countries of origin. The row has effectively blocked Macedonia’s integration with the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Some 45,000 have crossed through the country over the past two months, while more than 160,000 have arrived so far in neighboring Greece, which is struggling to cope with the influx.

“Until we receive a different order, the situation here will remain like this”, said the officer, who refused to be named because he was not authorized to speak to reporters. As the some of them rushed towards the fence and tried to open a section of it, to prevent them from opening it the military fired two stun grenades.

“These men are heartless”, said Yousef, a Syrian refugee who gave only his first name, as he held a little wide-eyed girl with curly hair in his arms and pointed toward the policemen. “We are nothing to them, our passports are nothing to them”.

Final week, there have been chaotic scenes on the Gevgelija practice station involving lots of of migrants making an attempt to board the trains.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the migrant crisis in Macedonia needs to be dealt with without delay. And, the woman I was with just burst into tears, saying ‘I’m so exhausted, I’m so exhausted, why can’t I cross?

Kurz said that the EU must look and treat all refugee routes equally, including the one that passes through Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary, and not focus its relief efforts primarily on the one that leads through Italy.

Fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, many have undertaken risky journeys across sea and land in search of safety and employment in the affluent nations of western and northern Europe.