IDOMENI. One step back

Since 2014, refugees from Syria, but also from Afghanistan, Pakistan and many other countries of the Middle East, began to flock to Idomeni in order to cross the Greek borders.

In 2015, the Republic of Macedonia decided to guard its borders with military forces in order to prevent the refugees from entering the country, as Serbia also closed its borders.

The transit camp at Idomeni, built in 2015 to provide basic support for no more than 6000 refugees passing through each day, rapidly had to become a longer-term residential camp. The peak number of refugees who stayed in Idomeni numbered more than 15,000. On the 24th of May 2016, Greek authorities closed the Idomeni camp after the known “agreement of shame” between European and Turkish authorities.