--- description: Georgi Licovski captured this photo of distressed children crying against the police line and crush of bodies. title: Photographer Shows Children Caught in Clash at the Greek Border image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted1e79c31366551a/69886077cf40a83574c3f5a0/04891691.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Photographer Shows Children Caught in Clash at the Greek Border  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 2:38 AM CUTPublished: Aug 21, 2015 11:49 PM CUT  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. 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](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 2:38 AM CUTPublished: Aug 21, 2015 11:49 PM CUT **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](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/21/crush-reported-as-migrants-try-to-cross-border-between-greece-and-macedonia "undefined"). The migrants tried to [cross into Macedonia](http://time.com/3999133/balkan-migrants-refugees-europe/ "undefined") 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  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 Aug. 21, 2015. Robert Atanosovski—AFP/Getty Images  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  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  An aerial view of migrants queueing to pass the border to Gevgelija, Macedonia, from the border village of Idomeni, Greece, on Aug. 21, 2015. 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