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Autumn in Central Europe does not have the sweet melancholy and mild climate of the Mediterranean. Temperatures fall sharply, rain turns into snow, nights are inhospitable to those who are forced to sleep in parks and squares or to walk for days and weeks.

All this is well known to the thousands of refugees on the route Idomeni-Skopje-Belgrade-Hungary who are rushing to reach their destination before winter comes and traps them somewhere in Serbia, Macedonia, or Thessaloniki. The city is already preparing to receive the first of them. According to the newspaper Kathimerini, 120 containers have already been transferred for this purpose and they will be located is Dendropotamo in Nea Anchialos where they will be used to house refugees. "Let us have no illusions, Thessaloniki cannot stay outside things. Those who cannot continue will gather in Thessaloniki and will wait for the opportunity to continue. It is only a matter of time for ships to begin to bring refugees to the port of Thessaloniki as they are doing in Piraeus. The city must be prepared and accept the idea of ​​receiving refugees," a well-informed source told the newspaper.

Refugees are rushing for one more reason - the Hungarians have announced that early next week they will begin to apply more stringent laws, including imprisonment, for those who have illegally entered the country and will enhance the iron fence. Simultaneously, their army has started training on the border with Serbia with the intention of deploying forces along the borderline. Macedonia in turn is exploring the possibility of building a fence along the border with Greece, as announced by Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Poposki.

Therefore the question is arising as to what will happen to the tens of thousands of people if the Macedonian government closed its borders and the level of snow in Serbia reached one metre?

At present, some are moving on foot, dressed in summer clothes, others by buses, trying to reach the Serbian-Hungarian border, where scoundrels are awaiting them to show them the holes in the metal fence in exchange for 100 euro per person, so that the refugees are able to cross the border.

Thousands will be forced to overwinter in difficult conditions in the transit countries. The European Union is already supporting them financially to set up reception centres where refugees can stay until spring, when they will continue on their way to Germany and Scandinavia.

Alternative routes

At the same time, "caravan" leaders are seeking alternative routes to bypass the Serbian-Hungarian border. The Bosnian authorities are preparing for the entry of large numbers of refugees and migrants, following the reports that they may change their route to EU countries and pass from Serbia through Bosnia and Croatia.

"As Hungary is reinforcing its border with fences and walls, refugees may choose new routes through Bosnia to eastern Croatia, near Karlovac. Slovenia is a few kilometres away from there and it is a Schengen member," said Bosnia’s Security Minister Dragan Mektic.

Now refugees are rushing to succeed before the closure of border crossings and before it becomes cold. Thousands arrive in Idomeni every day to cross the Greek-Macedonian border while being informed by traffickers, through mobile phones and GPS, on the state of the route, the conditions they will face, the behaviour of authorities, the potential risks and vulnerabilities along the border.