5.3.2016

Hundreds still arrived at the camp today while only a trickle was
allowed to pass. As it is so unclear when and for how many people the border will open for, the space in front of the door to Macedonia is crammed with people camping in front of the passage. The randomness forces them into a position where they must remain alert at all times and close to the border, as they maintain a hope to pass. Given the lack of basic supplies in the camp, people
have started to organise their own supplies and make their own distribution structures.

The transit process is becoming more and more chaotic, as Macedonia is further tightening the requirements to pass. Many people were rejected by Macedonian police because of their Greek registration paper showing the 1st of January as their date of birth. Those who are rejected have to return to Idomeni to receive a new paper stating a new date of birth. According to Newsthatmoves, these measures even extend now to those having overstayed their authorised month in Greece, who are being denied entry as well. But it remains to be confirmed how this measure is implemented.

Activists have reported mass rejections at the Serbian border leading to a new bottleneck situation at the camp in Tabanovce with more than 1000 stuck people there. The reasons for those rejections are unknown so far.

The German newspaper FAZ reports that apparently nine Syrian refugees  have been shot at the Turkish-Syrian border. This shows once more the deadly price for the European Union’s collaboration with Turkey that can be expected.

All these measures and news once more show that Europe’s answer to the ongoing migrations movement(s) is nothing but sheer violence. The camp in Idomeni is a structural symbol of this.