A new group of some 2,500 migrants was ferried to the port of Piraeus, outside the Greek capital, Athens, on Monday.

Brought to shore from the islands of Kos and Lesbos, most now face a long land journey to reach their chosen destinations like Germany and Sweden.

They are exhausted but relieved to be finally on the mainland.

Syrian refugee Mohamad now plans to move on from Greece.

He said conditions had been very bad at Mytilene, the capital of Lesbos, where he spent five days “in the street, no food, no anything”.

The onward journey means heading to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), then onto Serbia and Hungary.

Most of those making the journey hail from conflict zones like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan – easy prey for human traffickers exploiting their misery.

On board a Serbia-bound train at Gevgelija in FYROM, Syrian Gabriel described trafficking as a “black business”.

“These people, they don’t have humanity, you understand me? They treat us like animals. That is…my message, to reach… all the world. There is no human rights.”

The hope now for all those urging European solidarity to help refugees is that their faith in human rights can be restored.

Euro News