The Journey: The compassion for refugees seems to evaporate the further north they travel

Martin Geissler

Former ITV News Correspondent

ITV News is following the vast tide of refugees as they make their journey to Europe.

In Martin Geissler's latest eyewitness report he witnesses a sharp hardening of feeling towards the refugees as they make their way north.

The further north these people travel, the clearer it becomes that the welcome they're about to receive may not be as warm as they'd hoped.

In Slovenia they're rolling out razor wire along the border.

When the trains pull into Dobova station, the passengers are kept on board.

Translators with loudhailers bark messages in different languages, then the doors are opened and the people file past.

Ranks of police watch them, batons on their hips and masks covering their faces, to protect them from germs.

A refugee from Iran told Martin Geissler he may head to the Netherlands after Sweden and Germany changed their rules on admission to prioritise people from Syria. Credit: ITV News

When they landed in Lesbos these people fell into the arms of volunteers. Now the atmosphere is changing. It's sterile, suspicious, even militaristic.

There's a logic to that, of course. These are efficient countries dealing with a chaotic situation as best they can. But the compassion seems to evaporate the further north you go.

Police wore masks over their faces, apparently to protect them from germs as the refugees alighted the train. Credit: ITV News

In Britain the public mood reflects that. All but the hardest hearted among us feel sympathy when we see those wretched souls wash up in Greece. But those who reach the "jungle" camp in Calais are widely seen as a threat.

They're the same people, of course. But we want them to be someone else's problem, not ours.

Some countries are doing more than others, but everyone agrees this has to stop.

Martin Geissler met a young couple who said they had fled Afghanistan because their mixed-religion marriage is a jail-able offence. Credit: ITV News

It won't, of course, not for a long time. It'll grow, and grow, and grow.

As I write this I'm watching more people pour across a border, this time from Austria into Germany.

It's the final destination for many. At least that's what they hope.

#TheJourney so far

Martin's journey began on the Greek island of Lesbos. Credit: ITV News