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Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Balkan countries on refugee route adopt more pragmatic tactics

Change in policy of governments sees reduction in chaos as flow of people from Turkey to the EU continues When the Halawis, a family of Syrian haberdashers, wanted to get from Greece to Macedonia on Wednesday, they took a direct coach from Athens to the last hotel before the border. At the border itself, they joined group number 106, a line of 50 fellow Syrians waiting patiently to cross into Macedonia. Group 105 was already over the other side. “There is a system,” 28-year-old Assad Halawi nodded approvingly, as he and his sister waited in line. In his arms he held Amr, his one-year-old nephew. Amr’s parents could not afford the trip from Syria, where the civil war has destroyed the family’s home in Aleppo, and two of their shops. So Halawi has carried him from Aleppo, and will soon take him into Macedonia. Related: Refugee crisis: Juncker calls for radical overhaul of EU immigration policies Continue reading...


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