I have a new story out in USA Today, along with several photographs, documenting the perilous journey of war refugees as they seek safety and better opportunities in Europe. Here's a short excerpt:
IDOMENI, Greece — Clutching his son as he trudged through a field of sunflowers toward Greece’s border with Macedonia, Aladdin Shoumali’s eyes glistened with tears in the dim moonlight as he described why he fled his native Syria.
“My daughter dead, my father and brother dead, our home destroyed — we lost everyone, everything in this terrible war,” said Shoumali, 34, wincing as the toddler let out another piercing cry. “My son is sick and we have not slept in days, but there is nothing to do except keep walking.”
So they pressed on, part of an unrelenting tide of desperate people fleeing war-torn homelands to find refuge and better opportunities in Europe. More than 340,000 people have entered Europe so far this year — surpassing 100,000 in July alone — in what authorities describe as the worst refugee crisis since World War II. With unprecedented numbers of migrants making the long and perilous journey to reach European Union borders, countries are struggling to cope.
Read the rest of the story on the USA Today website: Migrants press on, hoping to find refuge anywhere in Europe.