All posts by harekact

News Digest

Turkey pushes refugee return with new Syria ‘safe zones’

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.

Continue reading Turkey pushes refugee return with new Syria ‘safe zones’ →

News Digest

New migrant route involves sailboats from Turkey

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
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

Via Infomigrants – 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 →

News Digest

Children losing out on education in EU migration deal

Via euobserver –  “I get depressed here. I want to go to a good school to study,” said a bright, 12-year-old girl from Afghanistan, who’s been stuck for six months in the grim Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos. “If we don’t study we won’t have a future and we won’t become successful.” Continue reading Children losing out on education in EU migration deal →

News Digest

Migrants claim abuse by Bulgarian police

Via Daily Sabah (20th July) – Forty-four illegal immigrants who were apprehended by Turkish troops near the border, claimed they were beaten by Bulgarian police and sent back to Turkey, the İhlas News Agency reported. Migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Iran were discovered by gendarme troops guarding the border between Turkey and Bulgaria in the Kofçaz district of the Turkish province of Kırklareli on Friday. They told Turkish officials that they crossed into Bulgaria three days ago but were captured by Bulgarian police. They claimed Bulgarian police officers beat them and stole their money and valuable possessions before sending them back to the Turkish side of the border. Continue reading Migrants claim abuse by Bulgarian police →

News Digest

9 die as migrant boat sinks off Turkey’s Aegean coast

Via Hurriyet Daily News / Anadolu Agency – Nine people died early on Aug. 9 when a boat carrying 13 migrants sank off the western coast of Turkey, the Turkish coast guard said. Four people were rescued.

The boat sank off the coast of Aydın province, near Kuşadası, a popular tourist destination, it said. Kuşadası district governor Muammer Aksoy said seven children and two women were identified as casualties with no one missing.

Continue reading 9 die as migrant boat sinks off Turkey’s Aegean coast →

News Digest

Exile wreaks havoc on refugees’ sexual and reproductive health

Via Relief Web – Refugee women and girls face extraordinary hardships. They endure grave risks and often brutal violence, and many are thrust into poverty. But they can also face another, more intimate, hardship, one that is seldom discussed – the effects of exile on their sexual and reproductive health.

Some 475,000 Syrian refugees have sought safety in the desert city of Sanliurfa, Turkey, an hour’s drive from the Syrian border. To meet their needs, UNFPA is operating four women’s and girls’ safe spaces in the city, which are all supported by European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).

Continue reading Exile wreaks havoc on refugees’ sexual and reproductive health →

News Digest

Four missing from capsized boat likely fleeing Turkish civil servants

Via Ahval News (19th July) – A boat that capsized on the Maritsa river on the Greek-Turkish border was likely carrying Turkish civil servants fleeing the crackdown after the July 2016 coup attempt, four of whom are still missing, Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported on Thursday.

Greek authorities have rescued three men, a woman and a child from the boat, according to the newspaper.

Continue reading Four missing from capsized boat likely fleeing Turkish civil servants →

Reporting on the Turkish-EU Border Regime