Via Hürriyet Daily News– Turkey has the largest refugee population in the world, according to a two-year study conducted by the Turkish Parliament’s Refugee Subcommittee that operates under the Human Rights Committee.
Turkey currently hosts approximately 4.3 million refugees, the report said.
Of the millions taking refuge in Turkey, 3.4 million reside in the country under Turkey’s temporary protection.
The remaining 600,000 refugees have residence permits, the report showed.
Via euronews(Link in Turkish) –Due to intense bombardment by the Syrian army backed by Iranian and Russian forces in the Syrian cities Hama and Idlib against ISIS, tens of thousands of people abandoned their houses and reached the Turkish border since November 2017.
Via T24 (Link in Turkish) – The Mayor of the Parliamentary Sub-Commission on Refugees and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Antalya Deputy Atay Uslu said that currently 4.3 million migrants live in Turkey. 3.6 million of them are Syrians. There are 300 thousand Iraqis, Palestinians and other international protection seekers living in Turkey. Uslu pointed out that only 3 people hold a refugee status in Turkey.
Via Akşam (link in Turkish) – 101 foreign people were caught in Izmir’s Dikili and Çeşme districts, while they were trying to cross into Greece.
The coast guards stopped a boat, which was detected in the district of Dikili. 71 people, including 65 Syrian and 6 Afghan nationals, were caught. Then, the coast guards moved to the Çeşme district on the notice that a group of irregular migrants was about to cross into Greece. The guard caught 30 of the Syrians who were in the boat. Continue reading 101 migrants were stopped in the Aegean Sea→
Via Hürriyet Daily News- A total of 1,632 undocumented migrants were detained across Turkey on Jan. 2, according to military figures.
Border troops detained a total of 1,556 migrants from Syria trying to illegally cross into Turkey, as well as five from Greece and two from Iran, according to the Turkish General Staff website. Turkey has been a main route for refugees trying to cross into Europe since the Syrian civil war begun.
Sixty-four migrants were also caught while trying to illegally enter Greece from Turkey, while five others were held at the Syrian border attempting to enter Syria.
Via Hürriyet Daily News– A mobile library with aims to bring local and refugee children together has been receiving great interest at its second stop in Istanbul, in the district of Avcılar.
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.
Deutsche Welle in Turkish reports about the issue of forced and second marriage of Syrian women in Turkey, a phenomenon which started to be widespread in Turkey. A website called “Syrian Women” is giving advice to Turkish men on how to find and marry Syrian women.
“Syrian women wanting to marry – what are Syrian women like? – how are Syrian women dressed?” The website is full of sexist stereotypes of women, who had to migrate from Syria Turkey:
“Syrian women are delicate beings like our women. The number of young men who want to get married to Syrian women has increased and the desire of married men who want to be with Syrian women has increased as well. Since Syrian women do not set official marriage conditions, men can start living with them”.
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 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.
