Migrants Place Children on Train Tracks to Protest EU Border Restrictions

Ever since Macedonia decided to restrict their border for migrants trying to make their way into Western Europe, thousands of asylum seekers have been massing at the Greek border with nowhere to go. After weeks of frustration, the migrants recently protested this decision by laying their children down on the railroad tracks that run through the Idomeni refugee camp, and into Macedonia.

Images of the protest were captured over the weekend, and feature the babies and toddlers holding signs that read “open the borders” and “We understood the EU advocates human rights not human trafficking.” Another read “I’m child and might not know much, but I believe treating people disrespectful for being born on the other side of the planet is called: ‘RACISM’.” However, the children were surrounded by their parents when these photos were taken, and they didn’t appear to be any immediate danger.

The protest occurred during Germany’s recent election, which netted impressive gains for the populist and anti-migrant party known as Alternative for Germany. In a sharp rebuke to Angela Merkel’s open door immigration policy, Germans came to the polls in droves to vote for the AfP, winning them seats in half of the country’s state parliaments. It’s safe to say that regardless of the outcome of this protest in Greece, these refugees won’t be receiving a warm welcome in Germany any time soon.