Over 1,500 people are stuck on the border, mostly Iranians, Moroccans, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis.
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Photos showed another group of Bangladesh men at the protest, who had stripped to the waist and written slogans, including “shoot us, we never go back”, on their chests in red paint.
Middle Eastern migrants along the Greek-Macedonian border drew extra attention to their hunger strike by literally sewing their mouths shut.
An global migration watchdog has reported a “drastic” drop-off in arrivals of migrants across the Mediterranean from Turkey to Greece over the weekend.
Other refugees and asylum seekers have taken similar extreme measures to indicate that they can not return to their countries of origin because of fear of death or persecution. “We can not turn back”, Amir told AFP.
“My family sold everything for me to come here”, said Muhammad Askito, 23, who is traveling with his wife, Ilham, 21, both from Morocco.
At least three of these refugees, all Iranian men, used twine and nylon to sew together their lips in a symbolic act of dissent.
Authorities in Macedonia have begun turning away migrants who are unable to prove that they are fleeing war in Syria, Afghanistan or Iraq, leaving thousands of people stranded at the border with Greece. He added that he wanted to go “to any free country in the world”.
Rights groups have challenged the policy, warning asylum ought to be granted on the foundation of nationality, not on value.
“To classify a whole nation as economic migrants is not a principle recognized in global law”, said Rados Djurovic, director of the Belgrade-based Asylum Protection Center.
Macedonia and other Balkan countries have toughened criteria for border crossings in the wake of the deadly November13 Paris attacks.
Only people from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are allowed to proceed.
Canada’s ambassador to Jordan confirmed on Monday that the desert kingdom will be the starting point for the journey of 25,000 Syrian refugees which the country will welcome from next month.
Amnesty says the reception centre in Gevgelija, on the Macedonian side of the border, lies empty and unused.
Some 850,000 people have entered the European Union this year, more than half of them landing in Greece, and the bloc has struggled to formulate a strategy to deal with the crisis.
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Nushid, migrant from Iran: “We don’t know, we are just staying here”.
