Greece: Refugee Protests at Border, Islands

Refugees and migrants in Greece staged protests Wednesday at the country’s border with Macedonia and on islands near the Turkish coast.

A migrant prepares a banner depicting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during a protest demanding the opening of the border between Greece and Macedonia in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, Greece, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Greece detained hundreds of refugees and migrants on its islands Monday, as officials in Athens and the European Union conceded a much-heralded agreement to send thousands of asylum-seekers back to Turkey is facing delays. AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic

IDOMENI, Greece—Refugees and migrants in Greece staged protests Wednesday at the country’s border with Macedonia and on islands near the Turkish coast, with officials still unsure when an international agreement to reduce migration will take full effect.

Several hundred protesters camped out at the border disrupted food distribution by charities in the sprawling tent camp that has sprouted near the village of Idomeni and demanded the border be reopened.

But some thought the protest misguided.

“I think it’s wrong that they’re protesting in this way. We must all get into the relocation program. It’s our only solution,” said Bayan al Assaf. The 21-year-old from Syria’s pulverized Homs was in Idomeni with his parents, 18-year-old sister and 13-year-old brother, and hoped to get to Germany or the Netherlands.

About 150 people also blocked one lane of a highway and a highway flyover by the nearby town of Polykastro, staging a demonstration outside a small hotel frequented mainly by charity workers.

A migrant boy plays with a balloon during a protest demanding the opening of the border between Greece and Macedonia in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, Greece, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic