Extension of the Borders in/to the City: Istanbul

Reporting from the kritnet conference Göttingen – Part 1

The HarekAct editorial board attended the 16th kritnet conference in Göttingen between 11-13th of May. It was a very good occasion to share and exchange knowledge, meet our friends, activists and colleagues again and discuss future projects and plans. We took part in the workshop titled “Post 2015 Border Regime – Re-Stabilization of the European Border Regime after the ‘Long Summer of Migration’”. We discussed the extension of borders into the cities following the example of Istanbul; the state of the border regime and public debate on migration in Turkey; and the impact and future of the EU-Turkey statement for both Greece and Turkey. Besides the individual inputs, we had a rich collective discussion with various perspectives, information and experiences brought by activists, researchers and professionals from Germany, Turkey, Greece and Kurdish region, and we are looking forward to keep building on the ideas we had as well as the connections we built there.

Although with a little bit of delay, now we would like to share our contributions to the workshop one by one. Enjoy the inputs presented by HarekAct editors in written and updated form in our blog. Keep posted!


With the so-called “summer of migration” three years behind us, and the European borders still sealed tight, it seems a good opportunity to remind ourselves of where these migrants are currently waiting, and what has happened since then. With this intention, I will here try to present an overview of the post-2015 migration context and the related management regime in Istanbul, Turkey.

To set the time frame, it should firstly be highlighted that Turkey’s “open border” policy on the Syrian border was effectively ended by March 2015, and was replaced with the militarization of border security through the erecting of border walls.

Border wall at the Turkey-Syria border. Photo by: sabah.com.

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Turkey Stops Registering Syrian Asylum Seekers

New Arrivals Deported, Coerced Back to Syria

 

Defendants Sentenced to Lifetime Imprisonment in Murder of Ugandan Sisters

The case of Violet and Beatrice was brought to public thanks to the consistent efforts of feminist solidarity groups who followed the case since the beginning till the end. And finally the case ended up with justice. Long live feminist solidarity!

Via BianetTwo defendants have been sentenced to lifetime imprisonment in trial of Ugandan Nantaba being murdered and her twin sister Babiry being subjected to sexual and physical violence. Continue reading Defendants Sentenced to Lifetime Imprisonment in Murder of Ugandan Sisters

#AgathonisiShipwreck: The case file

Via Refugee Support Aegean On 16 March 2018, a refugee boat sank near the Greek island of Agathonisi. Sixteen persons perished and at least three are missing. The survivors and relatives’ testimonies along with text messages sent to the Greek coastguard point towards a significant delay from the side of the Greek authorities in launching a search and rescue operation.

>From the early days of the tragedy, Refugee Support Aegean provides legal and psychological support to the shipwreck survivors and relatives of those who lost their lives. In this detailed case file, you can see how this tragedy unfolded.

Read the full story here >>

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Arabic signs removed in İstanbul district densely populated by Syrian refugees

Via Turkish Minute (from 29th June) – Officials from the Esenyurt Municipality in İstanbul on Friday removed signs in Arabic from district shops, in a neighborhood densely populated by Syrian refugees, in line with a recently adopted Turkish Standards Institute (TSE) rule that says the Turkish language should be a priority in signs.

The TSE announced in March that if shopkeepers want to use foreign languages, the type size of those words should be a quarter of the size of Turkish type.

Continue reading Arabic signs removed in İstanbul district densely populated by Syrian refugees

Ankara Officially Requests Exchange of Turkish Asylum Seekers for Greek Soldiers

Via Greek Reporter – Ankara has officially requested the extradition of the eight Turkish soldiers in the process of being granted asylum in Greece in exchange of a “fair trial” of the two Greek junior army officers detained in Turkey.

Greek newspaper Ta Nea has published a letter sent to President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani by the President of the Turkish Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Ahmet Berat Conkar.

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Syrian refugee women, girls, and people with disabilities in Turkey

Via Relief Web – Turkey hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees, almost half of whom are women and girls.

This rapid review looks at available evidence on how Syrian refugee women, girls, and people with disabilities have been affected by the response to the refugee crisis by a variety of actors, including the host government, international actors, and host communities. Refugees in Turkey face a number of challenges, with female refugees and refugees with disabilities facing additional gender and disability specific barriers. Poverty is a major issue for refugees, with nearly 67% living below the poverty line.

Continue reading Syrian refugee women, girls, and people with disabilities in Turkey

Reporting on the Turkish-EU Border Regime