Via Ekathimerini – The mayor of the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos has filed suit against all responsible parties over the conditions at the Moria refugee and migrant processing center, claiming that the law is being broken at the government-run facility, which is supervised by the military.
Via Daily Sabah– Greece’s controversial “pushback” of migrants caught near the Turkish border led to the death of a Pakistani migrant, Turkish media outlets reported.
The 18-year-old man, identified as M.G., was among a group of migrants who snuck into Greece from Turkey. Greek border authorities sent him and the others back illegally via the Evros (Meriç) river and, according to fellow migrants, M.G. fell into the icy water. He was pulled back to the safety of the boat but became ill after being exposed to frigid temperatures. Continue reading Migrant dies of hypothermia after being pushed back at the Greek-Turkish land border→
Via Ekathimerini– A group of 32 Turkish citizens who reached Chios island on the weekend are expected to apply for political asylum in Greece, Kathimerini understands.
Via ECRE – The NGO Refugees International has published a report entitled “I Am Only Looking for My Rights: Legal Employment Still Inaccessible to Refugees in Turkey”. Through a field research, refugees’ testimonies and an analysis of the applicable legal and policy provisions, the report examines the challenges and consequences that refugees face when they seek employment in Turkey. Continue reading The reality of legal employment to refugees in Turkey: lack of access and discrimination→
Afghan refugees work in an underground sweatshop in Zeytinburnu, Istanbul, Turkey.
By Yiğit Seyhan
For Afghan refugees, Turkey is seen either as a bridge to reach Europe or as a country of immigration in which they want to settle and join their friends and relatives. The continuation of war, conflict and poverty in Afghanistan pushes millions of them to seek a life in other countries. The beginning of Afghan immigration towards Turkey goes back to the first half of the 1980s. Turkish authorities initiated the settlement of a few thousand Afghan refugees with ‘Turkish origin and culture’, including Turkmen, Kyrgyz, Uzbek and Hazara origins. Turkey had already signed the Geneva Convention in 1951, but it still preserves the geographical limitation and thus does not give the refugee status to people coming from outside Europe. However, it also implements the 1934 Law on Settlement (İskan Kanunu) and uses the flexibility of this legal framework. According to this law, persons of Turkish ethnic descent and culture can immigrate, settle in Turkey and eventually receive Turkish citizenship. Such initiatives have contributed to the long-term settlement of Afghans in Turkey, and thus Turkey is perceived as a possible immigration country by Afghans. Continue reading The Evolution of Afghan Migration in Istanbul→
Via Evrensel(Report in Turkish)– Amnesty International launched a campaign to end the refugee policy that holds refugees on the Greek islands. Because of the “Readmission Agreement” signed between the European Union and Turkey, the refugees who have been kept on Greek islands since 20 months and have not been given any permission to cross into mainland Greece, are trying to shelter in tents. They are exposed to the hardship when it comes to accessing basic needs such as clean water and health care services. Amnesty International Refugee Rights Coordinator Volkan Görendağ states that Amnesty International is launching a campaign to make the Greek government end its policy on the islands and allow asylum seekers to move to mainland Greece.
Via The Turkey Purge – At least 12 people were detained near Turkey’s Greek border in the western province of Edirne, according to state-run Anadolu news agency. Anadolu said Friday that gendarmerie stopped 12 people in a prohibited military zone in Yeni Karpuzlu neighborhood in Edirne.
The detainees were identified as A.S., a former public servant who was dismissed from the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK); A.S., a former public servant at the Ministry of Family and Social Policies; H.İ.İ, a former chemistry teacher dismissed from his/her job at a high school; E.I., an agricultural engineer dismissed from the District Directorate of Agriculture in Ankara’s Golbasi district; and S.K., a high school personnel. Continue reading 4 children, 8 adults detained near Turkey’s Greek border→
Via T24(Link in Turkish) – The Greek government is preparing a legislative amendment, which includes the assessment of asylum requests of asylum seekers in the country. This legislative amendment, which is due to be discussed in parliament next week, is supposed to speed up the returning of asylum seekers to Turkey.
