'I'd Rather Die Than Go Back,' Iranian Migrant Stuck in Idomeni Says
Thousands of migrants and refugees, mostly from Iran, Pakistan and Morocco, have been stranded at a camp in the town of Idomeni, on the Greece-Macedonia border, for weeks, demanding to be allowed passage into non-EU Macedonia. Their frustration over being barred from continuing their journey to northern Europe has manifested in hunger strikes, protests, and clashes with police.
Overwhelmed by the number of asylum seekers pouring into Europe, Balkan states last month began blocking all but Syrian, Iraqi, and Afghan passport holders from entering.
A few hundred of those remaining, deemed “economic migrants,” began to leave Idomeni for Athens after Greek authorities gave a deadline to clear the area by December 6, according to reports.
But at least one Iranian, interviewed by Drone Media Studio and captured in this video, said he would rather die at the refugee camp in Idomeni than return home. Credit: YouTube/Drone Media Studio
