They call it “the game”—a dangerous and furtive attempt to traverse thousands of miles by foot, while evading police and criminals, and, eventually, crossing into western Europe.

Migrants began arriving to Europe by the thousands in 2015, on a trail carved from Greece through Serbia and into Hungary. But when Hungary cracked down on border enforcement, the route shifted west into Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2017. Its long and porous border with Croatia—where mountains and rivers inhibit strict enforcement—made Bosnia a key transit zone along the route. From there, migrants hoped to cross into Croatia, the lone European Union member country in the Balkans and an entry into western Europe.

“The game,” says photographer Ziyah Gafic, who has spent the past year