Thousands of refugees have been left stranded near the Greece-Macedonia border after new rules for moving between countries were introduced. Macedonia is only letting refugees, many of whom are escaping war in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, cross the border after they undergo a 30-minute interview about why they came to Europe.
Around 80 buses were halted at a petrol station near Polikastro in Greece on Friday (5 February). Abdula, a refugee from Iraq, said, You can see this, there is no place to sleep. Most of the people sleep on the bus, and its windy and cloudy and sometimes raining. If they want to keep us for a longer time here, maybe we need shower, you know, or money. So its not a good situation.
The Macedonian government have slowed down the rate of migration, after agreeing new measures to interview refugees with Austria, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. Buses, trains and even taxis have been brought into take many north into the former Yugoslav country.
But for some, the process is too slow. We dont have enough food. Just in three days they have once (distributed) food, and always we are buying. We are thinking if we finish the little money we have, what can we do? said Bezan from Afghanistan.
It is thought around 62,000 people arrived in Greece in January 2016 after fleeing the Middle East. So far, it is estimated that 1 million people have migrated into Europe.
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