InfoMigrants

Living in abandoned wagons near Thessaloniki's railway station, refugees squeeze into tiny holes inside freight trains as they try to sneak out of Greece. DW's photojournalist Dimitris Tosidis met them in Thessaloniki.

In the picture featured above, Mohammad (left), 18, from Algeria, smiled when asked how dangerous the attempt is to hide and sneak out on freight trains. "No risk, no life," he told DW. The freight trains passing through Greece’s second-largest city symbolize hope for some of asylum seekers. These people, who are fleeing war and unbearable conditions at their home countries spend days and nights roaming around the Thessaloniki’s railway station. They expect to get on the train secretly and reach their destinations - somewhere across the Greece’s border. They hear stories about people who made it before them. They also see people who are back with the same goal - for the fourth time. Anwar M., (left) and Ahmed A. from Algeria wait inside an abandoned wagon for the next freight train. “I tried to leave hidden in a train three times, I was caught twice in Macedonia and once by the Greek police,” says Ahmed. Anwar adds: “A fake passport costs 1,500 euros and the smuggler from the port of Patras to Italy 600 euros. I only have 25 euros left and I try to save them for Serbia.” Zaki, 29, from Algeria takes a rest inside an abandoned train wagon. He arrived in Greece nine months ago and worked on an olive grove for a month. He’s tried six times to get to Germany. His latest attempt was at least partially successful and he is now somewhere in the Balkans. Jalwan,16, helps Abdel Raman, 23, squeeze into the bottom of a freight wagon, which stopped at the station in order to change engines. According to security guards, this is the first place where Macedonian police conduct their searches. Because the timetable of the freight trains is unknown, refugees do not always know the destination of each train. Instead of reaching their preferred border destination in the north, they sometimes end up in Athens. An Algerian asylum seeker gives his friend last instructions how to hide inside a wagon carrying metal. Asphyxiation and dehydration are just some of the many dangers migrants have to contend with on their journeys. Young migrants jump off a train in an attempt to hide from private security contractors who are responsible for patrolling the area. Mohammad carries food and water from the nearby Softex refugee camp for his friends who are already hiding inside a freight train. Greek railway workers play cards during their afternoon break. Panagiotis (right) has been working there for 33 years. “This has been happening for almost a year but since last summer it’s happening every day. They leave and after one day they come back. It is very dangerous but we can’t do anything to stop them. Once I saw a Syrian mother with a baby trying to go inside a wagon storing petrol.” Greek authorities have put up a sign in Arabic warning of the electricity cables. Last November an Algerian migrant was electrocuted to death after trying to jump on a train. Infomigrants with DW.

InfoMigrants

Sisyphus ordeal for refugees in Greece

Living in abandoned wagons near Thessaloniki's railway station, refugees squeeze into tiny holes inside freight trains as they try to sneak out of Greece. DW's photojournalist Dimitris Tosidis met them in Thessaloniki.