Trapped

There is no relief for migrants even when they survive the deadly journey to Europe. They still risk beatings and tear gas filled clashes—usually due to delays in the registration process—from border control law enforcement during their long arduous journey by foot under extreme weather conditions to reach northern Europe. Now, they can not travel beyond Greece, as border control has tightened up in fear of migrant invasion and terrorism. They are trapped. In February 2016, FYR Macedonia erected a second fence becoming the 12th country—along with Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, Estonia, Ukraine, Spain and Turkey—in the European continent to fortify its border joining Greece. As Europe seals its borders by building razor-wire fences to block the influx of migrants, xenophobia and nationalism poisons the open borders policy and the “democratic” values of Europe.

Nikos Pilos is an award-winning photojournalist and one of Europe’s noted feature photographers. He has traveled extensively to document war, natural disasters, poverty, socioeconomic struggle and cultural shifts. His work regularly appears in leading international newspapers and magazines and has been exhibited throughout Europe and U.S.Since his first assignment in Lebanon in 1988, he has covered almost all the major historical events at Balkans, Middle East, Maghreb and Eastern Europe. The last two years he is dedicated into the realization of the cross media interactive platform THE REFUGE