SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina
"Please open the gates. Please think of the miserable pregnant women, children and the wounded people," says Muhammed Usman Khan.
The migrant from Kashmir is at the Greek border of Macedonia. The Balkan nation has become a major transit point for migrants, mostly from the Middle East, trying to reach northern EU members.
Some hundreds of people spent the last couple of nights on Macedonia's southern border and tried to enter in the morning after the government has declared a state of emergency Thursday and deployed the Macedonian army troops to build fences and guard the borders.
The police units used tear gas Friday to prevent hundreds of migrants to enter the country through the southern border from Greece.
"I did not come to Macedonia to live," says Khan. "I use this country to reach Europe. I am going where there is sense of humanity. I want to live in a place where there is no discrimination. This is my country as well as yours. I am a human."
Another migrant Mahmud Sukru from Syria said that he began his journey for the safety of his family due the conflict in his country.
"I am from al-Qamishli, a city in northeastern Syria on the border with Turkey. I want to go to Germany basically just to stay alive and safe," says Sukru.
Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stated that basic needs should be provided for the those in the region, particularly for the babies and the children.
According to the Interior Ministry on Thursday, 1,327 foreigners sought to apply for asylum in 24 hours, which allows them to reside in Macedonia for three days. Most of them use that time to travel to the Serbian border. The overwhelming majority of these refugees were Syrians -- 1,004.
In the past two months, the number stood at 41,414 foreigners, of which 33,461 were Syrians, followed by Afghans, Iraqis, and Pakistanis.
