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Gallery|Humanitarian Crises

A window into a desperate journey

Thousands of people continue a gruelling journey across Europe in search of a life free of war and persecution.

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Refugees set off early in the morning for the border town of Idomeni in northern Greece, trying to reach Macedonia [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]

By Milos Bicanski

Published On 18 Sep 201518 Sep 2015

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Thousands of refugees from across the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa are continuing to make the difficult journey across Europe in hope of a better life.

After making the life-threatening journey by boat from Turkey to one of many Greek islands, they island hop to the Greek mainland where they try crossing in to Macedonia, the first of many barriers into Germany and other wealthier northern European states that are more receptive of their plight.

With Hungary clamping down on the movement of those in need, and other states following suit, refugees are moving with a greater sense of urgency, and taking more perilous routes. The latest across the landmine-strewn hills of Croatia.

Despite weeks of negotiating, the EU has still not found a comprehensive strategy to deal with one of the largest movements of people since the Second World War.

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Most refugees eat just once a day [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
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Emir Ose from Afghanistan suffered burns after a bomb explosion which killed his mother and two brothers. He is trying to reach Germany with his father and cousin [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
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Syrian refugees wait to cross the border at Idomeni train station [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
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Police on the Hungary-Serbia border [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
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Police in Hungary arrest a Syrian family trying to cross over a barbed-wire fence [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
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A Syrian refugee wheels his two disabled cousins near the Serbia-Hungary border. His goal is to reach Germany where he hopes the children will have proper care [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
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Refugees are stopped by Macedonian police from entering the country from Greece [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
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A scuffle breaks out between refugees and police at the Greek-Macedonia border [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
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Refugees, young children among them, pile onto an overcrowded four-carriage train in sweltering heat to travel about 200km north. Their aim is to enter Serbia on foot in another step in their uncertain search for a better life [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
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After entering Serbia refugees wait in an open field in the border village Miratovac to be sent to a reception centre in the town of Presevo where they will be given documents to travel through Serbia freely [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]
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Refugees from Syria walk along a road in the village of Miratovac near the town of Presevo, Serbia. From Presevo they will continue their journey by trains and buses north to Hungary, the last staging post in their increasingly desperate journey to western Europe [Milos Bicanski/Al Jazeera]

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