The mass entry on Monday of nearly 1,000 Mideast refugees into the territory of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM) from an unguarded spot on the frontier on Greece was reportedly organized via a pamphlet urging desperate people to illegally cross into the neighboring country.
A copy of the anonymous pamphlet, written in Arabic, was recovered by authorities on both sides of the border, with the incident continuing to generate reactions a day later over the fate of the third country nationals who entered the land-locked country’s territory from Greece.
Meanwhile, according to the latest reports, no move by the Skopje government was observed on Tuesday to repatriate the group of third country nationals back into Greece via legal border posts, police officials on the Greek side stated.
Discovery of copies of the pamphlet led to the Tsipras government to urge refugees camped out at the Idomeni border post to “trust the Greek state” and acquiesce to being moved to temporary shelters. The Greek government also called on a hodgepodge of volunteer groups and NGOS to cooperate with Greek authorities so that migrants and refugees do “not fall victims to disinformation and scam artists”.
Tens of thousands of Mideast war refugees, mostly Syrians and Iraqis, but also third world nationals from as far away as Morocco and Bangladesh, have landed on Greek territory over the past year or so after disembarking from Turkey. The preferred final destination appears to be Germany or Scandinavian countries.
The text begins with the title of “TRUTHS”, maintaining that the border between Greece and fYRoM is closed and will remain closed for refugees, and that no transportation is awaiting them for transfer to Germany.
The unnamed author or authors also threaten that the “whoever remains in Greece will probably be deported to Turkey”, a reference to the country from where most of the third country nationals illegally entered Greece in a bid to reach another European destination.
“Whoever is able to enter, with a non-legal manner, to countries in Central/Eastern Europe will be able to stay (Germany still welcomes refugees)… The most probable development is that the CAMP of Idomeni will be evacuated in the next few days. It is probably that they will take your to infrastructure run by the Greek government, from where you will be returned to Turkey.”
Under the title of “SOLUTION”, the pamphlet informs the migrants to the fence on the border only extends five kilometers from the Idomeni border post, whereby the illegal passage into the neighboring country is possible.
In a more ominous note, the pamphlet reads:
“If you move in small groups or by yourselves the border police or the army will stop you and you will be returned to Greece … If, however, you gather together, thousands of people can cross simultaneously and police cannot stop you or return you… Let us gather on Monday at 2 p.m. at the CAMP entrance to cross the borders together. Please look at the map to find out the route and the meeting place.”
