STORY TOLD IN PICTURES

Refugee crisis: Bottlenecked on the Balkan route

In an open field that stops abruptly at a barbed wire fence, a contemporary tragedy is unfolding.

The majestic landscape on the Greece-Macedonia border presents a sharp contrast to the heartbreaking stories of the thousands of refugees left in limbo on these roads. As they await for the borders to reopen so that they can continue their long journey towards central and northern Europe, the refugees dream of making a fresh start, away from the war, the famine, the bombings and the fear that plague their homelands.

Thousands arrive at the camp daily, but few are allowed to cross to Macedonia, which has been creating a bottleneck effect on the refugee flow to the North. In the last week of February, the number of registered refugees in the camp increased from 7,000 on Wednesday to 12,000 by Friday, as Macedonia began allowing a trickle of people through the border.

The atmosphere of sick and exhausted travellers and crying children strikes visitors to the camp of Idomeni. Despite the relatively mild winter, the number of refugees who suffer from various illnesses increases each day as they camp out on damp, muddy fields along the way.

On February 29, some refugees tried to breach the fence but the Macedonian police forced them back using tear gas. This kind of response doesn’t help to calm tensions among the camp refugees.

“There are people here changing the numbers on their priority sheets in order to go first,” says Ibrahim, 35, a computer engineer from Damascus, “but I can understand that. Everyone wants to escape from this open prison by any means.”

Syrian refugees walk towards the Macedonian border near the Greek village of Idomeni. New arrivals are increasing adding to the bottleneck at the closed border. [Konstantinos Tsakalidis/SOOC/Al Jazeera]

Syrian, Iraqi and Kurdish refugees, frustrated by the closure of the border, try to break down the razor-wired fence. [Alexandros Stamatiou/SOOC/Al Jazeera]

As some refugees tried to break down the border fence, Macedonian police fired tear gas to push them back. [Alexandros Stamatiou/SOOC/Al Jazeera]

Refugees form long lines at the food distribution point waiting for their daily meal. The situation is tense as the process can take up a whole day. [Konstantinos Tsakalidis/SOOC/Al Jazeera]

Yusuf, 52, explains that border guards have found a problem with his friend’s documents. Some refugees try to exchange their priority numbers to be first to pass to the Macedonian side. [Nick Paleologos/SOOC/Al Jazeera]

A young girl rests on the ground in front of the border checkpoint. People have been waiting up to 15 days to cross into Macedonia. [Nick Paleologos/SOOC/Al Jazeera]

Tents pitched in the mud caused by the previous night’s rain create problems for the refugees. Many people in the camp have fallen ill due to the poor living conditions. [Konstantinos Tsakalidis/SOOC/Al Jazeera]

An elderly woman carries firewood to keep her family warm. [Nick Paleologos/SOOC/Al Jazeera]

Refugees huddle around a fire at night to keep warm while drinking hot beverages. [Nick Paleologos/SOOC/Al Jazeera]

Refugees continue to set up new tents as the population in the camp goes past 10,000. [Nick Paleologos/SOOC/Al Jazeera]

Stranded refugees stage a protest demanding the opening of the borders on their route through the Balkans. [Nick Paleologos/SOOC/Al Jazeera]

Mohammad and his family, from Aleppo, Syria, gather firewood next to the long, border fence that separates Greece from Macedonia. [Nick Paleologos/SOOC/Al Jazeera]

Men and women listen to a fellow refugee from Iraq performing a song. Despite the harsh circumstances, refugees find the courage to keep up their morale. [Nick Paleologos/SOOC/Al Jazeera]

A newly arrived refugee boy stands in heavy fog covering the field where the camp of Idomeni is set. [Nick Paleologos/SOOC/Al Jazeera]

As the morning sun rises over Idomeni, the fate of the refugees remains uncertain. Macedonia has been allowing only a small trickle of refugees to cross the border. [Nick Paleologos/SOOC/Al Jazeera]