Migrants’ newest route to Europe means an epic Balkans trek

FILE - In this Nov. 27, 2014 file photo a Greek coast guard officer, wearing a mask for fear of infectious disease, stands next to a small group of immigrants, on a launch carrying them to shore from a crippled smuggling ship holding more than 700 people, at the coastal Cretan port of Ierapetra, Greece. The ship, whose passengers are mostly Syrians, including children, women and elderly men, suffered engine failure 70 nautical miles off Ierapetra on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, file)

By Associated Press March 26, 2015 6 min read

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) – Migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East take many routes to cross illegally into the European Union, and all are fraught with likely disappointment and occasional danger. The newest path, through the EU’s Balkans back door, comes with a cruel twist: an epic 250-kilometer (150-mile) walk that is surging in popularity even though most who try it fail.

This month, The Associated Press traveled for 10 days and nights with a 45-member group of West African migrants trying to reach Germany and France via Hungary, the terminus of the Western Balkans route. Many trekkers have faced years of failure to reach the heart of Europe by other sea and air routes, and soon discover the new path makes its own peculiar demands on those who try it.

Here is the migrants’ story from their Feb. 27 assembly in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki through 10 days of mounting agony and, for all but a lucky handful, defeat.

___

SAFE HOUSE