The Greek island of Lesbos is a pleasant haven for tourists to spend their summer holidays, while for thousands of African and Middle Eastern asylum seekers, the birthplace of the poetess Sappho is a nightmarish landing throughout their journey towards northern Europe.

Since the beginning of 2015 almost one million more refugees have landed on the island, rubber dinghies set off every day from the Turkish coast ferrying hundreds of people across the sea. An area of 20-30 kilometers that yields a turnover of millions of dollars per week in human trafficking: the rates are $1000 per person and $500 per child. Upon landing, some men follow the arrival of migrants with their eyes. They first recover fuel tanks and outboard motors and then destroy the rubber dinghies, stabbing them with knives. Postcards of the island show, on one side, tourists enjoying their sailing holidays or lying in the sun next to lifejackets abandoned on the shore and, on the other, asylum seekers staying in makeshift refugee camps with no drinking water, no food, no bathrooms and no proper place to sleep. They are forced to live in inhuman conditions for days on end, waiting to be identified by the Greek authorities in order to resume their journey amid the hidden dangers across the Balkans.

Two Afghan refugees are playing amongst the debris of an old building on the shore of Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Two Afghan refugees are playing amongst the debris of an old building on the shore of Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Four men approaches a rubber dinghy full of Syrians refugees in order to take away its outboard motor and fuel tanks. About 600 asylum seekers reach the island shore everyday, each one of them paying 1 thousand dollars in order to cross the Aegean Sea and reach the Greek coast. Kratigos, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Four men approaches a rubber dinghy full of Syrians refugees in order to take away its outboard motor and fuel tanks. About 600 asylum seekers reach the island shore everyday, each one of them paying 1 thousand dollars in order to cross the Aegean Sea and reach the Greek coast. Kratigos, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some Syrian asylum seekers are washing their clothes in a fountain while others are waiting to collect drinking water or have a wash. There is no food, water or bathrooms in the makeshift refugee camp where they are hosted. Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some Syrian asylum seekers are washing their clothes in a fountain while others are waiting to collect drinking water or have a wash. There is no food, water or bathrooms in the makeshift refugee camp where they are hosted. Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some Syrian asylum seekers at the former military base of Moria, turned into a makeshift refugee camp. Hundreds of migrants go there every day waiting for identification documents to resume their journey towards Athens and Thessaloniki. Moria, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some Syrian asylum seekers at the former military base of Moria, turned into a makeshift refugee camp. Hundreds of migrants go there every day waiting for identification documents to resume their journey towards Athens and Thessaloniki. Moria, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A Syrian guy sweeping the floor around his tent at the makeshift refugee camp of Moria, using a tree branch as a broom. Moria, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A Syrian guy sweeping the floor around his tent at the makeshift refugee camp of Moria, using a tree branch as a broom. Moria, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A man walking inside the makeshift refugee camp of Moria. About 1 thousand refugees live there without access to the basic needs of life, including food, drinking water, bathrooms or proper shelter. Moria, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A man walking inside the makeshift refugee camp of Moria. About 1 thousand refugees live there without access to the basic needs of life, including food, drinking water, bathrooms or proper shelter. Moria, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Two asylum seekers are sitting on the beach where they arrived after surviving a perilous sea crossing in a rubber dinghy. Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Two asylum seekers are sitting on the beach where they arrived after surviving a perilous sea crossing in a rubber dinghy. Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A road sign showing the main tourist destinations in the world, with a boat for holiday-makers in the background. Thessaloniki, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A road sign showing the main tourist destinations in the world, with a boat for holiday-makers in the background. Thessaloniki, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Two Pakistani refugees are seen outside a shop in the city center of Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Two Pakistani refugees are seen outside a shop in the city center of Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Two women just got off a touristic miniature train, are walking on a street of the city center while a group of refugees take a rest before resuming their journey towards Mytilene. Molyvos, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Two women just got off a touristic miniature train, are walking on a street of the city center while a group of refugees take a rest before resuming their journey towards Mytilene. Molyvos, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Two asylum seekers look through a shade cloth at the former military base of Moria, turned into a makeshift refugee camp where hundreds of asylum seekers are hosted without access to the basic needs of life, including food, drinking water, bathroom or shelter. Moria, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Two asylum seekers look through a shade cloth at the former military base of Moria, turned into a makeshift refugee camp where hundreds of asylum seekers are hosted without access to the basic needs of life, including food, drinking water, bathroom or shelter. Moria, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some asylum seekers are seen buying food and drink from a food truck at the makeshift refugee camp of Moria. The Greek government doesn’t provide basic essentials to asylum seekers who are forced to pay higher prices for goods. Moria, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some asylum seekers are seen buying food and drink from a food truck at the makeshift refugee camp of Moria. The Greek government doesn’t provide basic essentials to asylum seekers who are forced to pay higher prices for goods. Moria, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of Syrian refugees just arrived from the coastal town of Dikili, Turkey, gather around a fire on the shore to warm themselves before sunrise. Each one of them have had to pay 1 thousand dollars in order to cross the Aegean Sea and reach the Greek coast. Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of Syrian refugees just arrived from the coastal town of Dikili, Turkey, gather around a fire on the shore to warm themselves before sunrise. Each one of them have had to pay 1 thousand dollars in order to cross the Aegean Sea and reach the Greek coast. Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some Syrian refugees just arrived from the coastal town of Dikili, Turkey, are looking at a rubber dinghy full of migrants coming from the same route. Kratigos, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some Syrian refugees just arrived from the coastal town of Dikili, Turkey, are looking at a rubber dinghy full of migrants coming from the same route. Kratigos, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some Syrian refugees just arrived from the coastal town of Dikili, Turkey, take a rest on the street. Kratigos, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some Syrian refugees just arrived from the coastal town of Dikili, Turkey, take a rest on the street. Kratigos, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Three men destroy a rubber dinghy by cutting it with knives. The vessel arrived around one hour beforehand carrying about 50 asylum seekers from the Turkish coast to the Greek island. Kratigos, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Three men destroy a rubber dinghy by cutting it with knives. The vessel arrived around one hour beforehand carrying about 50 asylum seekers from the Turkish coast to the Greek island. Kratigos, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Five ring buoys left in the water by migrants who survived a perilous sea crossing from the Turkish coast of Dikili to the Greek island. Six people died at sea two days previously. Kratigos, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Five ring buoys left in the water by migrants who survived a perilous sea crossing from the Turkish coast of Dikili to the Greek island. Six people died at sea two days previously. Kratigos, Lesbos, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli

Thessaloniki is one of the transfer points for refugees who travel across Greece to apply for asylum in other European countries. They are forced to sleep on the streets or to stay in hostels, many of them at the emblematic Europe Hotel, before leaving.

Most of them have a six-month permit, after which they become “outlaws”. They are consequently forced to find a way out of the country, thus falling into the hands of traffickers. They cannot use public transport or taxis, so every day hundreds of people walk 50 kilometers to the Kilkis region to reach Evzoni, by following the main road or the railway tracks, so as not to get lost. Their route then goes on into the Republic of North Macedonia, where many die after being hit by trains or in other circumstances: according to refugee accounts, many have disappeared at the hands of the mafia. At least 10 people a week end up in the Polykastro and Kilkis hospitals, on the Greek side, but many don’t go there for fear of the police. Asylum seekers already know what they are getting into and try to equip themselves with knives and wooden sticks for protection. According to the accounts of many Syrians rescued by Doctors Without Borders after the umpteenth attack by about 120 Afghans, Iranian and Pakistanis on the payroll of the local mafia, the Macedonian police on site did not intervene to rescue the migrants or stop the aggressors. This is the price immigrants have to pay for fleeing from wars. Without a humanitarian corridor, the immigration routes through the Balkans, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea, remain a breeding ground for organized crime and human trafficking.

A man looking down into the sea from the pier. Thessaloniki, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A man looking down into the sea from the pier. Thessaloniki, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some Afghan girls are seen picking fruit before setting off on their journey. Thessaloniki, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some Afghan girls are seen picking fruit before setting off on their journey. Thessaloniki, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A Syrian boy is seen taking a rest before starting on his journey. Refugees, who do not apply for asylum in the country, receive a letter of suspended expulsion, at the expiry of which they become illegal immigrants in that territory. Refugees cannot use public transport or private transport services to move around. Thessaloniki, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A Syrian boy is seen taking a rest before starting on his journey. Refugees, who do not apply for asylum in the country, receive a letter of suspended expulsion, at the expiry of which they become illegal immigrants in that territory. Refugees cannot use public transport or private transport services to move around. Thessaloniki, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A Syrian asylum seeker at Hotel Europa. Most migrants stay at this hotel for the night before moving to the Republic of North Macedonia. Thessaloniki, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A Syrian asylum seeker at Hotel Europa. Most migrants stay at this hotel for the night before moving to the Republic of North Macedonia. Thessaloniki, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A view from inside of Hotel Astro, used by migrants as a staging point before resuming their journey to the border town of Evzoni, near the Republic of North Macedonia. Polykastro, Kilkis, Grecia 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A view from inside of Hotel Astro, used by migrants as a staging point before resuming their journey to the border town of Evzoni, near the Republic of North Macedonia. Polykastro, Kilkis, Grecia 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
17-year-old Palestinian refugee Mahmood Amora, born and raised in a refugee camp in Damascus, Syria, is seen resting at the Astro Hotel. Polykastro, Kilkis, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
17-year-old Palestinian refugee Mahmood Amora, born and raised in a refugee camp in Damascus, Syria, is seen resting at the Astro Hotel. Polykastro, Kilkis, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of about 6o Syrians, including women and children, on their way to the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of about 6o Syrians, including women and children, on their way to the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
27-year-old Iraqi refugee, Mohammed Kelani. He was attacked in the Macedonian woods. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
27-year-old Iraqi refugee, Mohammed Kelani. He was attacked in the Macedonian woods. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
An Afghan man sleeping at the side of the road near the “Macedonia” bus station. Thessaloniki, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
An Afghan man sleeping at the side of the road near the “Macedonia” bus station. Thessaloniki, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A column of Syrian asylum seekers on the way through cultivated fields about a kilometer from the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A column of Syrian asylum seekers on the way through cultivated fields about a kilometer from the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Three Syrian youths taking a break on their way to the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Three Syrian youths taking a break on their way to the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
30-year-old refugee Gasmann, from the city of Deir ez-Zur, Syria, reading a compass bought for 90 euro. Thessaloniki, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
30-year-old refugee Gasmann, from the city of Deir ez-Zur, Syria, reading a compass bought for 90 euro. Thessaloniki, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of Syrian asylum seekers arrived in Idomeni carrying one of their friends on their shoulders. He had been shot in the leg in Syria. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of Syrian asylum seekers arrived in Idomeni carrying one of their friends on their shoulders. He had been shot in the leg in Syria. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli

Many scream for “Europe Europe!”, but the European dream has vanished for most of them. And the daily nightmare they find themselves trapped in has become a fact of life.

Following the constant deaths of immigrants killed while walking along the railway tracks on the way to Skopje and, after a number of attacks by organized crime and smugglers, a new law has been passed by the government of the Republic of North Macedonia. Theoretically it should allow asylum seekers to receive a 72 hour transit visa, to cross the country and continue their journey to the Republic of Serbia, through a simple request to customs or at police stations. However, in reality, the Macedonian government has deployed policemen and soldiers at the border around the buffer zone between Idomeni and Gevgelija, to prevent refugees from legally entering the country. Many of them arrive along the railway tracks at the border, gunshot wounded and borne on the shoulders of their friends or others in wheelchairs, along with elderly people, children and pregnant women, who have been waiting for days for the border to open.  The only way left is the dark path through forests where desperate families have to face their umpteenth test of strength. Only then, once they have entered the country, asylum seekers can receive the keenly awaited transit visa. Then their odyssey starts again, from Gevgelija to Skopje, and again from Kumanovo and Lojane, where they hope to reach the Republic of Serbia while people look upon these groups of mankind as if they were aliens.

Some refugees are seen waiting to be allowed by the border police of North Macedonia to enter the country. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some refugees are seen waiting to be allowed by the border police of North Macedonia to enter the country. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
28-year-old Syrian refugee Moayad El Nakim, is comforted by his Syrian friend Walid, 26. Both are in shock after they were attacked by about 120 Afghans, Iranians and Pakistanis near the border. According to them, the Macedonian police on site did nothing to intervene. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
28-year-old Syrian refugee Moayad El Nakim, is comforted by his Syrian friend Walid, 26. Both are in shock after they were attacked by about 120 Afghans, Iranians and Pakistanis near the border. According to them, the Macedonian police on site did nothing to intervene. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
An old Syrian woman in a wheelchair burst out in tears when the border police of North Macedonia said they would not permit refugees to enter the country. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
An old Syrian woman in a wheelchair burst out in tears when the border police of North Macedonia said they would not permit refugees to enter the country. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
An Eritrean asylum seeker with her son on a bicycle on their way to the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
An Eritrean asylum seeker with her son on a bicycle on their way to the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
28-year-old Syrian refugee Ahmad Rakie is seen leaving a sunflower patch after he was attacked by two smugglers on the road. They took his phone and 300 euro. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
28-year-old Syrian refugee Ahmad Rakie is seen leaving a sunflower patch after he was attacked by two smugglers on the road. They took his phone and 300 euro. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A refugee lights a fire to warm himself during a cold night in the buffer zone between the Republic of North Macedonia and Greece. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A refugee lights a fire to warm himself during a cold night in the buffer zone between the Republic of North Macedonia and Greece. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A Syrian asylum seeker takes a rest in a field with a knife in his hand, before resuming his journey towards the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. Syrian refugees are afraid of aggression by Macedonian mafia and smugglers who rob and beat up migrants along their perilous journey. Gevgelija, Republic of North Macedonia 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A Syrian asylum seeker takes a rest in a field with a knife in his hand, before resuming his journey towards the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. Syrian refugees are afraid of aggression by Macedonian mafia and smugglers who rob and beat up migrants along their perilous journey. Gevgelija, Republic of North Macedonia 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of Syrian refugees thrust their hands up after one of them asked the others who wanted to go to Germany. They were kept at the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia for 5 days. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of Syrian refugees thrust their hands up after one of them asked the others who wanted to go to Germany. They were kept at the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia for 5 days. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some refugees are seen behind a train heading to Gevgeljia. Many of them have died on this route after being hit by trains. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some refugees are seen behind a train heading to Gevgeljia. Many of them have died on this route after being hit by trains. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some asylum seekers looking at a dog just hit by a train. Many people have died in the same way, walking along the railway tracks to reach the Republic of North Macedonia. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some asylum seekers looking at a dog just hit by a train. Many people have died in the same way, walking along the railway tracks to reach the Republic of North Macedonia. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A little girl screams while other asylum seekers are seen waiting for the border police of North Macedonia to give permission to enter the country. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A little girl screams while other asylum seekers are seen waiting for the border police of North Macedonia to give permission to enter the country. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A border policeman of North Macedonia glares at refugees, while a pregnant woman with her husband look on. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A border policeman of North Macedonia glares at refugees, while a pregnant woman with her husband look on. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A border policeman of North Macedonia is seen beating a refugee who offered him some water, while a pregnant woman with her husband look on. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A border policeman of North Macedonia is seen beating a refugee who offered him some water, while a pregnant woman with her husband look on. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Two asylum seekers take a rest on the railway tracks in the buffer zone between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
Two asylum seekers take a rest on the railway tracks in the buffer zone between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. Idomeni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of refugees tries to cross the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia walking along the railway tracks while a border policeman orders them to go back to Greece. Republic of North Macedonia 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of refugees tries to cross the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia walking along the railway tracks while a border policeman orders them to go back to Greece. Republic of North Macedonia 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of Syrian asylum seekers walking through cultivated fields in order to reach the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia, after border police had driven them back to Greece. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of Syrian asylum seekers walking through cultivated fields in order to reach the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia, after border police had driven them back to Greece. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of Syrian asylum seekers has just crossed the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. Gevgelija, Republic of North Macedonia 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of Syrian asylum seekers has just crossed the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. Gevgelija, Republic of North Macedonia 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of Syrian asylum seekers walking through cultivated fields in order to reach the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia, after border police had driven them back to Greece. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of Syrian asylum seekers walking through cultivated fields in order to reach the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia, after border police had driven them back to Greece. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of Syrian asylum seekers watch the lights of one of the casinos in Gevgelija, Republic of North Macedonia 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A group of Syrian asylum seekers watch the lights of one of the casinos in Gevgelija, Republic of North Macedonia 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A Syrian man is seen carrying his son on the shoulder while walking at night in the field, during their journey towards the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli
A Syrian man is seen carrying his son on the shoulder while walking at night in the field, during their journey towards the border between Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia. Evzoni, Greece 2015. © Matteo Bastianelli

EUROPE EUROPE! (2015)