EUROPE-MIGRANTS/MACEDONIA BORDER UPDATE Refugees in Macedonia upbeat depsite long journeys to western Europe

Record ID: 139976

  • Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/MACEDONIA BORDER UPDATE Refugees in Macedonia upbeat depsite long journeys to western Europe
  • Date: 11th September 2015
  • Summary: GREEK- MACEDONIAN BORDER, MACEDONIA (SEPTEMBER 11, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS CROSSING INTO MACEDONIA MIGRANTS WALKING TOWARDS MACEDONIAN BORDER GREEK POLICE GEVGELIJA, MACEDONIA (SEPTEMBER 11, 2015) (REUTERS) MIGRANTS STOPPED BY POLICE IN FRONT OF A CAMP / SMALL GROUP WAITING TO ENTER LARGE GROUP WAITING (SOUNDBITE) (English) MIGRANT FROM NORTHERN IRAQ, SALAH JASIM, SAYING: "First I go to Europe and then I choose. Yes, yes, my trip is good, I feel, good, for me, yes. That's all. (JOURNALIST ASKING: "HOW IS LIFE IN IRAQ?") Sometimes nice, sometimes not nice, not good." VARIOUS OF GROUP OF MIGRANTS ENTERING CAMP AND REGISTRATION TENT BABY LYING IN WOMAN'S LAP MIGRANTS INSIDE REGISTRATION TENT MIGRANT CLOTHES DRYING ON CAMP FENCE, MACEDONIAN ARMY TRUCK DRIVING PAST MIGRANTS BOY PLAYING OUTSIDE UNHCR TENT MIGRANTS WALKING THROUGH CAMP GROUP OF MIGRANTS SHELTERING FROM SUN UNDER UNHCR CANVAS MEN SLEEPING IN SHADE THREE MAN CARRYING A MAN IN A WHEELCHAIR MIGRANTS EATING VARIOUS OF BOY PLAYING WITH TOY CAR ON UNHCR FLOORING CHILDREN PLAYING INSIDE TENT VARIOUS OF MACEDONIAN WORKER CEMENTING FLOOR OF WATER DISPENSER WOMEN AND CHILDREN LAUGHING IN SHADE MIGRANTS BOARDING BUS, OTHERS RUSHING FORWARD TO GET A SEAT ON ANOTHER BUS MIGRANTS BOARDING BUS REFUGEE FROM DAMASCUS, SYRIA, ABDULHADI KARKULI, TALKING TO FRIENDS (SOUNDBITE) (English) REFUGEE FROM DAMASCUS, SYRIA, ABDULHADI KARKULI, SAYING: "Some of us are going to Germany, and some of us to Sweden, some to Belgium, different, different places. (JOURNALIST ASKING: "HOW WAS THE TRIP?") How was it? It's..we're tired to be honest, and we're gonna, we're gonna complete our way to the end. (JOURNALIST ASKING: "WHERE ARE YOU FROM?") I am from Syria, we all from Syria. Some from Damascus, some from Tartus, some from Latakia, everywhere. (JOURNALIST ASKING: "HOW IS THE SITUATION IN SYRIA?") So, so messed up, so messed up. War, ISIS, everything." ABDULHADI'S FRIEND CROSSING BRIDGE
  • Embargoed: 26th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAERXABW07NT4DONHTLMF6D6ZYR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Despite treacherous journeys across seas, through miserable rain and scorching sun, migrants and refugees reaching Macedonia on Friday (September 11) said they felt optimistic about a brighter future in European Union countries.
    With thousands flooding across the border from Greece into Macedonia daily, many from countries like Syria, Iraq and Somalia said that their journeys were not yet over.
    "First I go to Europe and then I choose. Yes, yes, my trip is good, I feel, good, for me, yes," Salah Jasim from northern Iraq said, as he was queuing to enter the registration camp a few hundred metres from the Greek border.
    Most of migrants have had to adapt to changing their surroundings on a daily basis as they enter temporary accommodation along the route.
    The Macedonian camp close the Greek border is still in the process of being completed, with newly-installed piping for a water dispenser set to bolster the few tents, mobile toilets and small first aid tent supplied by the government and international aid organisations. Water had previously only been available in bottles for migrants who have to stop at the camp to be registered to continue their journey northwards to Serbia and then to their final destination: for many, the EU.
    Migrants are flowing in increasing numbers through the Balkan peninsula towards Hungary as Greece ferries them from inundated islands to Athens, from where they head north to Macedonia.
    Thousands of refugees have been arriving in Macedonia daily, with no sign that the stream will abate in the coming days.
    At least 850,000 people are expected to cross the Mediterranean seeking refuge in Europe this year and next, the United Nations said on Tuesday (September 8), giving estimates that already look conservative.
    Many are refugees from Syria, driven to make the voyage by intensified fighting there and worsening conditions for refugees in surrounding countries due to funding shortfalls in aid.
    "Some of us are going to Germany, and some of us to Sweden, some to Belgium, different, different places," said Abdulhadi Karkutli from Damascus, as he waited to board a bus with his friends.
    For most, the ultimate goal is Germany, where they hope they will be able to apply for asylum and build a better life.
    But the last leg on their journey before they get into the European Union's Schengen passport-free zone is Serbia's border with Hungary, which Hungarian authorities are reinforcing by constructing a fence and stepping up patrols.
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