For thousands of migrants fleeing hardship in the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans, every day presents a new, often life-threatening obstacle. This week, after Hungary closed its southern borders, they were forced to go hundreds of miles out of their way, creating a new corridor through Croatia and Slovenia in the hopes of eventually reaching Germany and northern Europe.
Migrants warm themselves next to a fire as they wait to cross the border into Slovenia on Oct. 19. | (REUTERS/Antonio Bronic)
Relentless rain, meager supplies, scant shelter, and aggressive border patrols are just a few of the hardships these men, women, and children face on their journey. Even with regret looming over their decision to flee, thousands press on. Below, photos from their harrowing and ongoing journey.
Smugglers, refugees, and migrants aboard a fishing boat reach the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on Oct. 11. | (Antonio Masiello/NurPhoto)
A migrant sleeps at the feet of his fellow travelers as their train moves across Macedonia on July 31. | (REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski)
Migrants and refugees beg Macedonian police to allow them to cross the border from Greece during a rainstorm on Sept. 10. | (REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis)
A Kosovo man carries his baby as he illegally crosses the Hungarian-Serbian border on Feb. 6. | (REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh)
A staggering number of migrants are escorted by police in Brezice, Slovenia, on Oct. 20. | (REUTERS/Srdjan Zivulovic)
Migrants run after crossing a fence as they attempt to access the Channel Tunnel in Frethun, France, on Aug. 4. | (REUTERS/Juan Medina)
Refugees are smuggled through fields and forests in an attempt to evade the Hungarian police close to the Serbian border on Sept. 8, in Roszke, Hungary. | (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Migrants protect themselves from the weather with emergency blankets as they huddle on the seawall at the Saint Ludovic border crossing between Italy and France on June 14. | (REUTERS/Jean-Pierre Amet)
A man jumps down from a bridge, as he and other migrants try to pass police blockades in Gevgelija, Macedonia, on Sept. 10. | (REUTERS/Tomislav Georgiev)
Blanket-covered migrants walk through a field close to the border with Croatia in Serbia, on Oct. 19. | (REUTERS/Marko Djurica)
A migrant carrying a child waits to cross the border with Croatia in Serbia on Oct. 19. | (REUTERS/Marko Djurica)
