On Saturday IOMtr and @IOMchief handed over 6 state-of-the-art search&rescue vessels to the Turkish Coast Guard. The vessels are part of a project that develops the capacity of the TCG to save more #migrants’ lives at sea.@IOM_ROVienna @UNmigration pic.twitter.com/tzWFjbtuVa
— IOM Turkey (@IOMturkey) February 26, 2018
Tag Archives: Mediterranean crossings
55 migrants were caught in Ayvalık
Via Milliyet (Link in Turkish) – 55 immigrants from Balikesir’s Ayvalık district who were trying to cross to the Greek island Lesvos were caught by the Coast Guard Command.
According to the information received, the Ayvaçk Coast Guard Command teams detected 55 migrants on an inflatable boat in the morning on the Sarımsaklı Beaches in Küçükköy District. The Coast Guard teams, which immediately took action rescued 55 migrants, including women and children, who were under the threat of overturning. Continue reading 55 migrants were caught in Ayvalık
Turks land on Greece’s Oinousses island, request asylum
Via Ekathimerini – Seventeen Turkish citizens landed on the shores of the Greek island of Oinousses in the eastern Aegean on Monday afternoon and requested asylum, the country’s coast guard has announced.
The majority are said to be civil servants and the group has been transferred to the Vial migrant center on Chios, where they will be registered and processed. Continue reading Turks land on Greece’s Oinousses island, request asylum
50 migrants were caught in Urla
Via CNN Türk (Link in Turkish) – Fifty migrants, including women and children trying to escape via the Aegean Sea by boat were caught by coast guard teams in the Urla province of Izmir.
The Coast Guard identified the boat, when the migrants where already in the water.
A total of 50 migrants were arrested, including 26 Syrian, 12 people from Angola, five from Togo, four from Somalia, two from Cameroon and one Iraqi national. Continue reading 50 migrants were caught in Urla
Turkish Coast Guard: Migrant deaths in Aegean down 85 percent in 2017
Via Hurriyet Daily News – Migrant deaths in the Aegean Sea plummeted by 85 percent in 2017 compared to 2016, according to Turkey’s Coast Guard Command. A total of 61 people lost their lives trying to cross the Aegean in 2017, down from 434 people in 2016 and 806 people in 2015, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Continue reading Turkish Coast Guard: Migrant deaths in Aegean down 85 percent in 2017
Migrants caught when trying to cross the Med towards Italy
Via CNN Türk (Link in Turkish) – 83 migrants who were about to cross the Mediterranean to Italy from Çanakkale were caught and three people were detained because of smuggling. Among the migrants were 38 men, 18 women and 27 children. The three people arrested where an Ukranian captain and two sailors.
Group of 32 Turkish civilians set to seek political asylum in Greece
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.
All state workers or teachers, the Turks claimed they feared persecution in their country, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a purge of the civil service and armed forces after a failed coup in 2016. Continue reading Group of 32 Turkish civilians set to seek political asylum in Greece
Amnesty: Doors should be opened to refugees held on the islands
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.
The Memories of the Dead will not be erased with Black Paint
Via W2EU – In the night of the 24th of November 2017, by the harbour of Thermi on Lesvos Island, unidentified persons vandalised the memorial that we had erected there in 2013. It carries the names of those who had drowned on their journeys to Europe. Two wooden paddles hold the plaque with the names of the dead and the memorial looks out to the sea, dedicated to those of all ages and backgrounds, whose lives ended at sea. Continue reading The Memories of the Dead will not be erased with Black Paint
Turkish Family who died in the Aegean, attempted crossing by themselves
The German-Turkish online newspaper ‘Deutsch-Türkisches Journal’ (DTJ) reports (in German) that the Maden family, who lost their lives in the Aegean Sea while trying to reach safety in Greece, attempted to crossing by themselves. The family did not have enough money to pay a smuggler, so with their last funds and some borrowed money, Hüseyin Maden bought a small boat and decided to steer the boat himself to the Greek island of Lesvos. Continue reading Turkish Family who died in the Aegean, attempted crossing by themselves