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Photographer Shows Children Caught in Clash at the Greek Border

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Migrant children crying macedonia greek border
Children cry as migrants waiting on the Greek side of the border break through a cordon of Macedonian special police forces to cross into Macedonia, near the southern city of Gevgelija, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on Aug. 21, 2015. Macedonian police clashed with thousands of migrants attempting to break into the country after being stranded in no-man's land overnight, marking an escalation of the European refugee crisis for the Balkan country.Georgi Licovski—EPA
By Julia Zorthian
Updated: | Originally published: ;

Correction appended, Aug. 21, 2015

Hundreds of migrants trying to cross the border from Greece to Macedonia clashed with police lines on Friday, just a day after Macedonia declared a state of emergency and closed the border. Photographer Georgi Licovski captured this image of distressed children pushed against the police line and crush of bodies.

“For the first time in my life I saw my colleagues—photographers and journalists—crying because of the situation,” Licovski told TIME after spending the day taking pictures at the border. He added that it was also the first time he has cried while working.

When the Macedonian government allowed some migrants to cross into the country near the southern city of Gevgelija, people flocked to the passageway and tried to press through after the crossing was sealed once more. Macedonian police fired tear gas and stun grenades to subdue the crowd, the Guardian reports. The migrants tried to cross into Macedonia after being stranded in a no-man’s land.

Licovski said there were a lot of babies, children and mothers in the crowd, and that many families were split up in the throng that pressed people to the ground. He added, “It was really terrible, really terrible.”

Correction: The original version of the story misstated the name of the photographer whose image is featured. He is Georgi Licovski.

See the Conflict Between Migrants and Police at the Greek Border

Migrant men help a fellow migrant man holding a boy as they are stuck between Macedonian riot police officers and migrants during a clash near the border train station of Idomeni, northern Greece, as they wait to be allowed by the Macedonian police to cross the border from Greece to Macedonia, Friday, Aug. 21, 2015. Macedonian special police forces have fired stun grenades to disperse thousands of migrants stuck on a no-man's land with Greece, a day after Macedonia declared a state of emergency on its borders to deal with a massive influx of migrants heading north to Europe. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Men help a fellow migrant as they are stuck between Macedonian riot police officers and other migrants during a clash near the border train station of Idomeni, northern Greece. They are waiting to be allowed by the Macedonian police to cross the border from Greece to Macedonia, on Aug. 21, 2015. Darko Vojinovic—AP
A woman looks up at police blocking a group of migrants trying to cross the Macedonian-Greek border near the town of Gevgelija on August 21, 2015. Macedonia said on August 20 that it had declared a "state of emergency" on its southern border with Greece and would draft in the army to help control the influx of migrants crossing the frontier. AFP PHOTO / ROBERT ATANASOVSKIROBERT ATANASOVSKI/AFP/Getty Images
A woman looks up at police blocking a group of migrants trying to cross the Macedonian-Greek border near the town of Gevgelija on Aug. 21, 2015.Robert Atanosovski—AFP/Getty Images
Mandatory Credit: Photo by NurPhoto/REX Shutterstock (2805163n) A migrant child and her father pass through the cordon of policeman and enter Macedonia, after they and other migrants were waiting on the Macedonian-Greek border where they are being held, since Macedonia declared emergency at its borders and closed its south border for them Macedonia blocks its border with Greece, Gevgelija, Macedonia - 21 Aug 2015 Thousands of them are being held in the zone between Greece and Macedonia.
A migrant child and her father pass through a cordon of policeman and manage to enter Macedonia, after being held in the border zone between Greece and Macedonia, on Aug. 21, 2015.NurPhoto/REX Shutterstock
Mandatory Credit: Photo by NurPhoto/REX Shutterstock (2805163g) A family of migrants pass through the cordon of policeman and enter Macedonia, after they and other migrants were waiting on the Macedonian-Greek border where they are being held, since Macedonia declared emergency at its borders and closed its south border for them Macedonia blocks its border with Greece, Gevgelija, Macedonia - 21 Aug 2015 Thousands of them are being held in the zone between Greece and Macedonia.
A family of migrants enters Macedonia after being held in the border zone, since the country had declared emergency and closed its south border with Greece, on Aug. 21, 2015.NurPhoto/REX Shutterstock
epaselect epa04891581 An aerial view taken from a drone of migrants queueing to pass the Greek-FYROM border to Gevgelija, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, from the border village of Idomeni, northern Greece, 21 August 2015. Macedonian police clashed with thousands of migrants attempting to break into the country after being stranded in no-man's land overnight, marking an escalation of the European refugee crisis for the Balkan country. Macedonia had closed the border to refugees and declared a crisis situation in the border zone, calling upon the military to curb the inflow of migrants and deploy border patrols. EPA/NIKOS ARVANITIDIS
An aerial view of migrants queueing to pass the border to Gevgelija, Macedonia, from the border village of Idomeni, Greece, on Aug. 21, 2015.Nikos Arvaniditis—EPA

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Write to Julia Zorthian at julia.zorthian@time.com