Via Keep Talking Greece– Greek authorities have struck a blow to a NGO suspected to have been involved in facilitating the illegal arrivals of refugees and migrants to the islands of Lesvos and Samos. The NGO was mainly operating on the island of Lesvos and the hot spot of Moria. Investigation that has lasted several months has reportedly found out that the NGO was systematically active in the facilitation of the illegal entry of migrants and refugees to Greece.
Via BBC – At Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, there is deadly violence, overcrowding, appalling sanitary conditions and now a charity says children as young as 10 are attempting suicide. The Victoria Derbyshire programme has been given rare access inside.
“We are always ready to escape, 24 hours a day we have our children ready,” says Sara Khan, originally from Afghanistan. “The violence means our little ones don’t get to sleep.”
Most of the 3.5m Syrians in Turkey can at least work, but the future is precarious
Via The Economist –GAZIANTEP | Returning to Turkey from Germany with four children in tow was not easy for Faisl Alakrch, a 36-year-old Syrian. He had to use a people-smuggler to retrace, in reverse, the route he had taken the year before. His younger brothers have remained in Germany and are studying at university, but he wanted to work, and complains that “I could not do anything there.” Turkey, by contrast, has made it easy for him to operate. He was able to register a company and set up a café in Gaziantep, a city close to the Syrian border. He has now been invited to become a Turkish citizen. His six-year-old son speaks a mixture of German, Turkish and Arabic. Continue reading Syrian refugees find Turkey more welcoming than western Europe→
Via DW (17.08) – The German Interior Ministry has announced it has reached a deal that will allow it to return asylum-seekers to Greece. Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spain’s Pedro Sanchez agreed to a similar compromise last week.
Via Ahval (17.08.2017) – Turkey aims to open a new border gate with Iraq in order to allow it to trade with its southern neighbour and bypass territory controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq, pro-government Star newspaper said. Continue reading Turkey aims to open new border gate with Iraq→
Via Sputnik (23.07.18) – Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Monday that Turkey was not fulfilling its agreement with the European Union to help curb migration to Europe, despite Ankara having received financial aid that was promised under the deal, pointing out that 1,200 migrants had arrived to Italy from Turkey since the beginning of 2018.
Via The New Arab– Turkey is set to create more safe zones in Syria to allow refugees who fled the civil war – around half of them to Turkey – to return home.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday at his Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) provincial headquarters in the city of Trabzon, that 250,000 people had already returned to Syria.
“God willing soon we will have liberated more places and made more areas safe,” he said, reported Reuters.
Refugees and migrants arrive in an overloaded rubber dinghy on the Greek island of Lesbos (Lesvos), Greece, 15 December 2015 after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey. EPA/STRINGER
ViaInfomigrants – A new migrant route from Turkey has been opened up by human traffickers – particularly Ukrainian and Russian – to transport migrants to Europe, mainly through Italy. In recent weeks, the smugglers have used sailboats and landed on the beaches of Sicily at night. Continue reading New migrant route involves sailboats from Turkey→
