Syrian refugee: 'It's hard to enter the UK, that's why we go to Germany'

"It's very hard to go to the UK," Syrian refugee Maan tells IBTimes UK as he waits for the train he has boarded to depart from Šid train station, Serbia. Maan is travelling with his daughter and wife to the Croatian transit centre near the city of Slavonski Brod, from where they can continue their journey to Germany.

Maan and his family are among thousands of refugees − mainly from countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq − who aim to reach Germany, where they hope they can start a new life free from violence.

Most of them already have family members waiting for them in Germany and believe that the European nation is the best destination in which to raise their children.

"I tried to go Britain, but it's too difficult," Maan says. "I have family members in Germany and it's easy to go there. I hope for a better future for my family. The situation in Syria is too much. Too much war, too much killing."

Thousands of people have been fleeing war, persecution and extreme poverty in the ongoing refugee crisis that has been described as "the biggest since the Second World War". Germany has publicly announced it is willing to take 1 million migrants, while the European Union (EU) warned that up to 3 million people are expected to reach the EU by 2017.

Germany, which is currently witnessing a rise in anti-migrant rallies, said it will speed up the repatriations of rejected asylum seekers as the number of people who reach the country is drawing closer to the 1 million mark.

UK Prime Minister David Cameroon said the UK will take up to 20,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq in the next five years, after he initially said the country would not accept further refugees earlier in September.

IBTimes UK travelled to Serbia courtesy of World Vision UK. Click here for more information about the World Vision UK refugee crisis appeal.