--- description: Migrants unable to pass through the border between Greece and Macedonia have sewed their lips together in protest. title: Protesting Migrants Sew Lips Shut in Border Protest image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7e35018b842a1945/69887274cf40a85d0cc40ca8/iran-migrant-lip-sown-shut.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 # Protesting Migrants Sew Lips Shut in Border Protest by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 23, 2015 8:35 PM CUT  A stranded Iranian migrant has his lips sewn as he sits on rail tracks at the border between Greece and Macedonia near the Greek village of Idomeni on Nov. 23, 2015. A stranded Iranian migrant has his lips sewn as he sits on rail tracks at the border between Greece and Macedonia near the Greek village of Idomeni on Nov. 23, 2015.Yannis Behrakis—REUTERS by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 23, 2015 8:35 PM CUT Migrants unable to pass through the border between Greece and Macedonia have [sewed their lips together in protest](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34903677 "undefined"). The men, who appeared to be from Iran, are among hundreds of immigrants protesting after Macedonia limited passage only to those fleeing conflict, BBC reports. Balkan countries have closed their borders except to people fleeing wars in countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The protesting men, some of whom appear to be from Iran’s Kurdish minority, sat down on railway tracks in front of riot police with their mouths sewn shut, with messages such as “Just freedom” scrawled on their foreheads and chests. Hundreds of thousands of migrants have traveled by boat in Greece from Turkey and made a dangerous journey through the Balkans to reach Europe. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4124858/protesting-migrants-sew-lips-shut/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4124858/protesting-migrants-sew-lips-shut/"},"headline":"Protesting Migrants Sew Lips Shut in Border Protest","datePublished":"2015-11-23T20:35:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:51:32.695Z","description":"The men appeared to be from Iran","url":"https://time.com/4124858/protesting-migrants-sew-lips-shut/","keywords":["Greece","migrants"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7e35018b842a1945/69887274cf40a85d0cc40ca8/iran-migrant-lip-sown-shut.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7e35018b842a1945/69887274cf40a85d0cc40ca8/iran-migrant-lip-sown-shut.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A stranded Iranian migrant has his lips sewn as he sits on rail tracks at the border between Greece and Macedonia near the Greek village of Idomeni","caption":"A stranded Iranian migrant has his lips sewn as he sits on rail tracks at the border between Greece and Macedonia near the Greek village of Idomeni on Nov. 23, 2015.","creditText":"Yannis Behrakis—REUTERS","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4124858/protesting-migrants-sew-lips-shut/","name":"Protesting Migrants Sew Lips Shut in Border Protest"}}]}] ```