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| Thousands of Migrants Stranded in Greece as Route North Is Narrowed | Thousands of Migrants Stranded in Greece as Route North Is Narrowed |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| IDOMENI, Greece — There has been a rough triage taking place the last few weeks along the barbed-wire and chain-link fence separating Greece from Macedonia. | IDOMENI, Greece — There has been a rough triage taking place the last few weeks along the barbed-wire and chain-link fence separating Greece from Macedonia. |
| “Only Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans!” a Greek police officer shouted recently, looking over the bedraggled families coming forward at this transit camp, one of the main gateways for people fleeing conflict, persecution and poverty in search of better lives in Europe. | “Only Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans!” a Greek police officer shouted recently, looking over the bedraggled families coming forward at this transit camp, one of the main gateways for people fleeing conflict, persecution and poverty in search of better lives in Europe. |
| The rest — the Iranians, Yemenis, Ugandans, Moroccans, Algerians, Pakistanis, Congolese, Somalis and more — are left to look on with anger and despair. | The rest — the Iranians, Yemenis, Ugandans, Moroccans, Algerians, Pakistanis, Congolese, Somalis and more — are left to look on with anger and despair. |
| The border crossing here ran smoothly for months, an efficient funnel for tens of thousands of people who had made it across the Aegean and the Mediterranean and were heading toward Germany and beyond. In orderly groups of 50, they were shepherded into Macedonia and onto trains heading north. | |
| But the door to Europe, seemingly flung open this summer to all, has quietly shut for many of them, without much fanfare or explanation and over the objections of Greece. The idea is to slow the flow of people — nearly a million have reached Germany this year — and filter out some of those who would not qualify for refugee status on the basis of fleeing a war. | But the door to Europe, seemingly flung open this summer to all, has quietly shut for many of them, without much fanfare or explanation and over the objections of Greece. The idea is to slow the flow of people — nearly a million have reached Germany this year — and filter out some of those who would not qualify for refugee status on the basis of fleeing a war. |
| Since the new policy took effect last month, thousands of migrants, unable to move forward and unwilling to go back, have been living in the fields around here, making do in ragged pup tents, their laundry drying nearby. They have huddled by campfires to stay warm, eagerly telling anyone who will listen that they, too, should be allowed to go north. | |
| After clashes between the police and the migrants, and amid concern that the encampment was blocking rail traffic across the border, the Greek authorities sent forces in on Wednesday to clear it out. They demanded that journalists and aid workers leave the scene, and they began herding hundreds of migrants onto buses that would take them to Athens, where they are to be housed while the government figures out what to do with them. A news release issued by the Greek police on Wednesday afternoon said that about 2,300 migrants had been transferred to temporary accommodations in Athens. Most are from Pakistan, Somalia, Morocco, Algeria and Bangladesh, the statement said. | |
| The Greek police are also trying to prevent a new buildup of migrants along the border with Macedonia by intercepting them as they enter the country and sending all those who are not Syrian, Iraqi or Afghan to Athens. | The Greek police are also trying to prevent a new buildup of migrants along the border with Macedonia by intercepting them as they enter the country and sending all those who are not Syrian, Iraqi or Afghan to Athens. |
| Most of the stranded have sold all they owned — homes, motorcycles and even textbooks — to make it this far. It is not clear that the migrants who continue to stream into Greece are aware that only those from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan will be allowed to continue north. | Most of the stranded have sold all they owned — homes, motorcycles and even textbooks — to make it this far. It is not clear that the migrants who continue to stream into Greece are aware that only those from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan will be allowed to continue north. |
| The number of arrivals in Greece fluctuates enormously from day to day. But since a peak of 10,000 arrivals in one day in October, the number has generally declined to an average of about 2,000 a day during the first week of December. No one knows how many more may be in the pipeline, too far gone to turn back and undeterred by the growing risks of winter weather. The Greek authorities said Wednesday that at least 12 people had drowned when a boat carrying as many as 50 migrants capsized in the Aegean. | The number of arrivals in Greece fluctuates enormously from day to day. But since a peak of 10,000 arrivals in one day in October, the number has generally declined to an average of about 2,000 a day during the first week of December. No one knows how many more may be in the pipeline, too far gone to turn back and undeterred by the growing risks of winter weather. The Greek authorities said Wednesday that at least 12 people had drowned when a boat carrying as many as 50 migrants capsized in the Aegean. |
| Those who now find their route blocked say there is little or no distinction between the countries they came from and Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. | Those who now find their route blocked say there is little or no distinction between the countries they came from and Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. |
| “We have a war in Yemen,” said Waled al-Shaibani, 20, who has been at the border for 10 days and is living in an empty boxcar on the nearby train tracks. “We are being bombed by Saudi Arabia. Why is that different?” | “We have a war in Yemen,” said Waled al-Shaibani, 20, who has been at the border for 10 days and is living in an empty boxcar on the nearby train tracks. “We are being bombed by Saudi Arabia. Why is that different?” |
| But the guards at the border, he said, just pushed him away. | But the guards at the border, he said, just pushed him away. |
| Doctors Without Borders, the aid agency that runs the camp, said it got no warning before Macedonia began sending back anyone who was not from Iraq, Syria or Afghanistan. | |
| “One day, just like that, the policy changed,” said Yvonne Ovesson, who manages food distribution at the camp. “I don’t think Greek officials knew it was coming.” | “One day, just like that, the policy changed,” said Yvonne Ovesson, who manages food distribution at the camp. “I don’t think Greek officials knew it was coming.” |
| It is not clear how the new policy came into being. The Macedonian government has said little about it, but it went into effect as a succession of countries to the north made similar decisions to weed out those migrants they believe are coming to get jobs rather than to flee wars. | It is not clear how the new policy came into being. The Macedonian government has said little about it, but it went into effect as a succession of countries to the north made similar decisions to weed out those migrants they believe are coming to get jobs rather than to flee wars. |
| Germany has been pressing neighboring countries to better regulate the flow across its borders. It already has a system in place to screen and deport migrants who make it that far but are judged not to qualify for asylum. | Germany has been pressing neighboring countries to better regulate the flow across its borders. It already has a system in place to screen and deport migrants who make it that far but are judged not to qualify for asylum. |
| The process of screening migrants by nationality has left thousands trapped along the way, with as many as 6,000 living at times in the mud along this border, their fury bubbling over almost daily with protests and efforts to storm or tear down the new fence, which now stretches nearly 40 miles and sparkles in the sunlight. But to no avail. | The process of screening migrants by nationality has left thousands trapped along the way, with as many as 6,000 living at times in the mud along this border, their fury bubbling over almost daily with protests and efforts to storm or tear down the new fence, which now stretches nearly 40 miles and sparkles in the sunlight. But to no avail. |
| The Macedonian police have responded at times with tear gas and rubber bullets. One Moroccan man died when, in a melee, he climbed onto the roof of a train car and touched the electricity cables overhead. | The Macedonian police have responded at times with tear gas and rubber bullets. One Moroccan man died when, in a melee, he climbed onto the roof of a train car and touched the electricity cables overhead. |
| As the flow of migrants grew last summer, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany stepped in to assure them that her country would keep its doors open. | As the flow of migrants grew last summer, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany stepped in to assure them that her country would keep its doors open. |
| Now, Ms. Ovesson said, many of the men, women and children camped along the Greece-Macedonia border are hoping that Ms. Merkel will speak up for them, too. | Now, Ms. Ovesson said, many of the men, women and children camped along the Greece-Macedonia border are hoping that Ms. Merkel will speak up for them, too. |
| “They ask all the time,” she said. “Has Angela said anything?” | “They ask all the time,” she said. “Has Angela said anything?” |
| But Ms. Merkel, struggling to find shelter for the hundreds of thousands of new arrivals that have already made it to Germany and with her popularity ratings dropping, has said nothing to indicate she wants the new policy to be changed. | But Ms. Merkel, struggling to find shelter for the hundreds of thousands of new arrivals that have already made it to Germany and with her popularity ratings dropping, has said nothing to indicate she wants the new policy to be changed. |
| Some of the people who have risked their lives to get here are simply poor and looking for a way to support families back home. Mohamed Wadi, an 18-year-old soccer player from Morocco, said his club did not pay him to play while the managers made money. “I only want a chance,” he said. “I’m the oldest with three brothers that I need to support.” | Some of the people who have risked their lives to get here are simply poor and looking for a way to support families back home. Mohamed Wadi, an 18-year-old soccer player from Morocco, said his club did not pay him to play while the managers made money. “I only want a chance,” he said. “I’m the oldest with three brothers that I need to support.” |
| But others, ranging from the Yemenis to a group from the Baluchistan region of Pakistan, which has been racked with violence, and dozens of Iranians, who fear imprisonment or worse because they are Christian, gay or political activists, can make an effective case for asylum in Europe, experts say. | But others, ranging from the Yemenis to a group from the Baluchistan region of Pakistan, which has been racked with violence, and dozens of Iranians, who fear imprisonment or worse because they are Christian, gay or political activists, can make an effective case for asylum in Europe, experts say. |
| Now, however, it seems that Greece, a virtually bankrupt country with an unemployment rate of more than 25 percent, may be the end of the road for them. Many refuse to accept this idea, walking the fence to see where they might be able to sneak past the Macedonian guards. | Now, however, it seems that Greece, a virtually bankrupt country with an unemployment rate of more than 25 percent, may be the end of the road for them. Many refuse to accept this idea, walking the fence to see where they might be able to sneak past the Macedonian guards. |
| “I will crawl up that mountain if I have to,” said Amir Lalenia, a 31-year-old Iranian, who said he wants to be free to practice his Christian faith. | “I will crawl up that mountain if I have to,” said Amir Lalenia, a 31-year-old Iranian, who said he wants to be free to practice his Christian faith. |
| “I left home for good,” he said. “I am not going back. If we could live there, why would we be here? There are not just bombs that are dangerous, you know.” | “I left home for good,” he said. “I am not going back. If we could live there, why would we be here? There are not just bombs that are dangerous, you know.” |
| The Greek authorities have objected to the new triage by nationality, calling it unfair. In an email, Greece’s minister for migration policy, Ioannis Mouzalas, said the Greek government had “repeatedly expressed” its disagreement with what was going on at the border. “This categorization also contravenes the principles of the United Nations,” he said. | The Greek authorities have objected to the new triage by nationality, calling it unfair. In an email, Greece’s minister for migration policy, Ioannis Mouzalas, said the Greek government had “repeatedly expressed” its disagreement with what was going on at the border. “This categorization also contravenes the principles of the United Nations,” he said. |
| But some experts say the decision to take only Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis is a simple numbers calculation. They are the nationalities who are generally granted asylum more than 70 percent of the time. | But some experts say the decision to take only Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis is a simple numbers calculation. They are the nationalities who are generally granted asylum more than 70 percent of the time. |
| “There are so many people coming that people are just looking for a way to slow things down,” said Daniel Esdras, the head of the Greek office of the International Organization for Migration. “It’s not nice to categorize people like this, but what can you do?” | “There are so many people coming that people are just looking for a way to slow things down,” said Daniel Esdras, the head of the Greek office of the International Organization for Migration. “It’s not nice to categorize people like this, but what can you do?” |
| The migration organization, which generally provides migrants with plane tickets and a little start-up money to go home, ran out of funds in June this year and only recently got emergency funding that could help 1,000 people return to their countries of origin. | The migration organization, which generally provides migrants with plane tickets and a little start-up money to go home, ran out of funds in June this year and only recently got emergency funding that could help 1,000 people return to their countries of origin. |
| But at the border, few say they would consider such a thing, and it appears that Greece will be left with the job of deciding on asylum applications and resettling those who decide to stay. | But at the border, few say they would consider such a thing, and it appears that Greece will be left with the job of deciding on asylum applications and resettling those who decide to stay. |
| Many of those now being shuttled back from the border to Athens are being housed in former Olympic stadium sites, which have been abandoned for years. | Many of those now being shuttled back from the border to Athens are being housed in former Olympic stadium sites, which have been abandoned for years. |
| There were more than 500 people, many sleeping on the floor, in the administrative building of the former hockey stadium on a recent evening. Some had come back from the border. Others had not been there yet. | There were more than 500 people, many sleeping on the floor, in the administrative building of the former hockey stadium on a recent evening. Some had come back from the border. Others had not been there yet. |
| “We are full,” said Marios Karagiannakis, the shift supervisor at the stadium. “But they keep coming. I leave at 2 a.m., and when I get back there are another 60.” |