Idomeni by night

When night falls, hundreds of campfires are lit using firewood collected during the day and a serene smoke fills the air. In stark contrast to the days, which are filled with protests, TV cameras and, at times, violent riots, nights in Idomeni are relatively peaceful, allowing the camp's inhabitants to unwind - that is, if they have shelter.

About 12,000 asylum-seekers have packed into Idomeni, a refugee camp designed for 2,500, turning the surrounding farm fields into a labyrinth of tents pitched between campfires. Arriving by bus, taxi or on foot, people trying to reach Northern Europe are being stopped by tighter controls at the Macedonia border and have opted to wait here, hoping the border will reopen.

"The camp's well-organized and people are relatively calm again, but I think the situation is going to burst at any moment," said Kalliopi Mitelineos, a victim identification specialist for A21, an NGO focusing on human trafficking. "The borders aren't going to operate like they used to, and Greece is not prepared for this. We don't have money for this."

Some joke, saying the crisis has brought as many journalists to Idomeni as refugees, but Yazan, a Syrian guitarist, said he avoids cameras during the day. "I try to stay out of photos because I don't want my family to see me like this. They ask me how it's going and I never tell them anything close to the truth."

Having lost everything but his guitar during his crossing to Samos, Yazan said he spent his first few nights in Idomeni inside group tents until a humanitarian worker gave him a one-person tent. "The people working in this camp are so nice," he said. "I don't think we could stay calm without their help."

Despite the 24-hour presence of aid workers, people who arrive late at night are more likely to sleep out in the open due to limited supplies. To address the problem, vans operated by Save the Children, as well as independent volunteers, have begun patrolling the camp after midnight to deliver tents to families without shelter.

Currently, asylum-seekers who register in Greece receive documents granting them 30 days in the country. "What they are doing is completely legal," said a Greek policeman speaking on condition of anonymity of the people waiting in Idomeni to continue north. "But now they are new and they have money. I don't know what they'll do when they run out of money. I don't know where they'll go."

"If you are looking for something in this camp, you ask around and the next day you will find someone selling it at the entrance," Yazan said of the many Greek and Arabic vendors who have set up stands near Idomeni. From cigarettes to aluminum pots and halal burgers, one can find an array of products at all hours.

Rain brings mud to the camp and often ruins tents not designed to withstand moisture. Sam Ismail, a former peshmerga soldier from Kirkuk, Iraq, complained of the weather. "In the night, I wake up and my blankets are wet inside the tent even if it didn't rain," he said. "I don't understand the weather here. The air is so humid."

Currently, between 50-200 people are crossing the Macedonian border per day. Though the acceptance rate is far below the number of daily arrivals in Idomeni, Ismail said he will do whatever it takes to reach his brother in England. "It took me six tries to get from Turkey to Greece. Do they really think I will stop here?"