The United Nations on Tuesday condemned new restrictions on refugees that have left around 1,000 migrants stuck at the main border crossing into Macedonia from Greece, denied entry due to their nationalities in violation of worldwide law.
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A group of migrants marooned on the border between Greece and Macedonia opted for a rather extreme form of protest as authorities blocked their passage deeper into Europe.
About six migrants earlier sewed their lips together in protest.
Despite its status as a member of Europe’s Schengen zone of passport-free travel, Slovenia announced last week that it would only continue to accept migrants from the war-torn countries of Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
One of the men, a 34-year-old electrical engineer named Hamid, was asked by Reuters where he wanted to go.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants have passed through Greece over the past year, but increased scrutiny became a priority after the November 13 terror attacks in Paris, France, that killed 129 and wounded more than 350 others.
Economic migrants, however, will be turned back, because Macedonia is unable to provide shelter for them, Poposki said. Dozens of would-be refugees from other nations, including Iran and Pakistan, carried out a hunger strike in a Greek village near Macedonia. We just go for a better life.
The rejection by Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia and Serbia has led to a build up of refugee numbers at the Balken borders including some from priority borders but without papers.
But in a move created to try and persuade refugees from taking the perilous journey to Europe, the European Union has confirmed it is setting up a 3bn euro fund for two years to help Turkey support Syrian refugees.
“These measures by States are creating tension at border crossings and a domino effect, leaving in total limbo some refugees and migrants stranded at different border points”, the joint statement continued.
“People seeking asylum need to be screened on individual merit, not on the basis of their nationality”. “We risk violating human rights and asylum law”.
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In London on Wednesday, Trudeau said last week’s deadly gun-and-bomb attacks in Paris, claimed by the Islamic State group, had changed “the perception that Canadians had”. “It was not created to hold this many people, and we are now looking for another site more suitable for long-term inhabitants”.
