Al Jazeera | 14.11.2017
by Patrick StricklandAthens, Greece – After fleeing war-ravaged Syria, waiting in Turkey, passing through a Greek island and traversing the mainland last year, Fahd al-Mekki and his family reached the Idomeni, a crossing into Macedonia, only to be turned back.
Macedonian border guards denied the family passage, telling the 53-year-old father that Jobar, his hometown near Damascus, was a safe area and denied them passage.
Jobar has been the site of many battles and more than five years on since the start of the Syrian war, it is unrecognisable in a state of ruin.
Mekki’s wife and three children eventually made it to Germany with the help of smugglers more than a year ago, but he remains stranded in Athens, the Greek capital.