Emblematic story for World Refugee Day - 20 June 2015 - Cycling to Save Their Lives

[Surya Gayatri]

World Refugee Day
20 June 2015

World Refugee Day is held every year on June 20. According to the UNHCR, there are more than 50 million refugees around the world, half of whom are women and children.

Keep these struggling peoples in your thoughts and meditations today, please.

In Macedonia, EU-bound Migrants Cycle to Better Lives

Fleeing their trouble-torn countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, streams of EU-bound migrants are driving an unexpected trade in a quiet town in Macedonia -- bicycles.



Thousands have arrived in Demir Kapija, a few kilometres (miles) from the Greek border, after journeys by foot, train and boat. But in this picturesque town it is bicycles they seek for the next leg.

In Macedonia, authorities ban migrants from using public transport but they tolerate walking and cycling -- which has seen the price of two-wheelers quickly double in this town of about 3,500 people.



Walid Amoud, a geography professor from Damascus, looked over dozens of bicycles -- new and old -- lined up outside a small shop in the centre of Demir Kapija before negotiating to buy one for 125 euros ($140).

"I'm travelling with my four daughters, my son and a five-month-old baby," he told AFP. The family's dream destination is Germany, which they believe is their best chance for a new start.

"We fled death to die on the road. Our situation is getting worse every day," said 37-year-old Bara, an English language professor from Homs in western Syria, travelling with her four daughters.

The youngest one, a five-year-old brunette with blue eyes, is autistic.

Bara said they had faced little interference from authorities in the areas they crossed -- Turkey on foot, the Aegean Sea by boat to Athens, Greece by train to Thessaloniki and then again on foot to Demir Kapija.



"To us everything is forbidden, but nevertheless they let us continue our journey," she said in tears.

Read more here:

http://www.afp.com/en/news/macedonia-eu-bound-migrants-cycle-better-lives

No one undergoes this kind of ordeal by choice. These are people in desperate straits.

[polly7]

1. K&R. nt.