Via Hürriyet Daily News – Opposition authorities are issuing new ID cards in northern Syria with help from neighboring Turkey, expanding their administration over territory that remains outside President Bashar al-Assad’s expanding area of control. Continue reading Turkey involved in creating new ID forms for Syrians who ‘lost it all’
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.
Continue reading Extension of the Borders in/to the City: Istanbul
Via Human Rights Watch – Turkish authorities in Istanbul and nine provinces on or near the Syrian border have stopped registering all but a handful of recently arrived Syrian asylum seekers. The suspension is leading to unlawful deportations, coerced returns to Syria, and the denial of health care and education.
The European Commission has recently praised Turkey’s asylum system and plans to release the second batch of €3 billion under its March 2016 migration deal which includes support for refugees in Turkey. European Union institutions and governments have stayed publicly silent on the suspension and other refugee abuses committed by Turkey, suggesting their primary concern is to halt the movement of asylum seekers and migrants from Turkey to the EU. Continue reading Turkey Stops Registering Syrian Asylum Seekers
Saad Abdllah reports for the Samos Chronicles about a forced deportation from Turkey to Syria. His friend Mohammad was attempting to cross the Aegean Sea to Greece by boat with other migrants when they were picked up by the Turkish Coast Guard shortly after starting. They were then detained for 6 days, loaded onto a bus without knowing the destination and finally ended up in Idlib, Syria.
Little is known on what happens to migrants who are being picked up by the Turkish Coast Guard, Police or Gendarmery when trying to irregularly cross to Greece, except these horrific single stories of detention and forced deportation. We would like to ask our readers to share their knowledge, insights, articles and contributions on this issue with us! Please contact us at harekact@bordermonitoring.eu.
Via Samos Chronicles (19th June) – For the past ten days I have been waiting for news from Mohammad. Like me he comes from Aleppo but for the past 6 years he has been with his mother and brother living in Istanbul. Mohammad is 18 years old.
We became friends through Facebook where he saw that I was involved with many refugees in Athens and in Samos. He had read my story in the Samos Chronicles. As a young gay man he turned to me for advice and help which I was happy to give. Over the past six months we have talked a lot and a good friendship has developed. I know that he trusts me.
Continue reading A New Nightmare: Picked up in the Aegean and Returned to Syria
Via AlJazeera – As the Turkish economy slows down and people are getting ready to elect new leadership, the presence of millions of Syrian refugees living in the country returns to the fore.
Today marks World Refugee Day, when the plight of migrants is highlighted. More than 16 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes in the last year.
Turkey hosts more refugees than any other country, and the upcoming election has highlighted the issue of more than four million Syrian refugees in the country. They have generally been welcomed, but as the economy slows, they fear they will bear the fallout.
Via The Black Sea -By Zeynep Sentek and Sebnem Arsu.
Under an agreement in March 2016, the EU pledged six billion Euro to Turkey to effectively trap millions of refugees within its country and stop them from entering the European Union.
This is not the only cash from the EU. It also pays Turkey for military equipment which is used at its borders with Syria and Greece to halt those wishing to seek asylum in the 28-member bloc.
An investigation into EU contracts by Politiken and Danwatch (Denmark) in partnership with the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) reveals that EU has supplied Turkey with 83 million Euro in armoured military vehicles and surveillance equipment for what witnesses say is aggressive patrolling of the borders.
These deals also risk the EU being complicit in possible violations of the international rights of refugees. Continue reading No Way Out
Via Ahval News – Abdulkarim Khalaf opened his eyes on last month to find himself lying in a hospital bed in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ayn, near the border with Turkey. When the 18-year-old tried to ask about his two cousins, nobody in the room could understand the sounds he was making, distorted by the many wounds to his face and body.
Khalaf and his two cousins, 22-year-olds Hameed Sahlan and Zayed al-Moghaireth, from a village close to the border successfully scaled the wall Turkey erected along the frontier to keep out refugees, but immediately ran into Turkish border guards.
Continue reading Syrian refugees say Turkish border guards shooting at them
Via Open Democracy – Turkey’s military offensive in Afrin is also an example of how refugees are instrumentalized to gain domestic support for foreign policy ambitions.
From integration policies to electoral politics, migration is often discussed as a domestic policy issue. Yet rarely does its possible connection with foreign policy attract attention (see a few exceptions).
One recent example is Megan Barlow’s latest openDemocracy article where she argues that the Turkish government employs refugees not only as political tools for foreign ambitions, but also for reinforcing a conservative and Islamist ideology. My argument follows the same line of thought by situating Turkey’s instrumentalization of refugees in the context of its co-operation with the EU over migration.
Continue reading Re-thinking EU-Turkey co-operation over migration
** German version below / Deutsche Version weiter unten **
This newsletter has been published as part of the bordermonitoring.eu newsletter, which is – for now – available in German only.
Two years after the signing of the EU-Turkey Deal, only one part of the monetary obligation has been fulfilled by the European side so far: The payment of 3 billion Euro to several agencies in Turkey. The main part of the agreement has not been fulfilled by the EU though, a fact that is being hardly discussed in Turkish media: visa-free travel to Europe for Turkish citizens and renewed EU accession talks.
Meanwhile, Turkish authorities keep proving that they are fulfilling their part of the legally questionable deal by arresting undocumented migrants in different border regions. In early March, Turkish authorities declared that they apprehended a total of 5.371 migrants just within one week. According another source, Turkish security forces stopped 50.000 people in 2017 at the land border with Bulgaria and Greece. Meanwhile, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) criticizes violent push-backs to Turkey conducted by Bulgarian authorities and Human Rights Watch scandalizes on-going illegal push-backs carried out by Turkish border guards on the border zone with Syria.
Regarding the situation on the Greek side, Refugee Support Aegean (RSA), an initiative supported by Pro Asyl, claims that the very poor reception conditions on the Greek islands are part of the deterrence policy against potential migrants coming from Turkey. Overcrowding, lack of infrastructure and gender-based violence against vulnerable individuals are some of the main problems in the hot spots. However, despite horrible conditions of reception and ongoing deportations from the Greek islands to Turkey, migrants continue to make the journey to the Greek islands daily crossing the sea in unseaworthy boats. Too often these journeys end deadly, as on March 17th when 16 people including at least 5 children drowned after their boat capsized. In this context, family members of the dead and missing are accusing the Greek authorities: Despite several calls for help by a relative, the authorities did not start a search and rescue operation for too long, thereby approvingly accepting their death.
By now, it is also Turkish citizens – mainly dismissed civil servants – who take the boats to Greece. According to Greek authorities, 1.800 Turkish nationals applied for asylum in Greece in 2017.
In the Greek hot spots, where thousands of migrants are trapped in overcrowded camps and terrible conditions, most of the children have no access to formal education. The situation of refugee children is similarly problematical in Turkey. Apart from limited access to education, the legal status of the Syrian babies born in Turkey is uncertain. According to a report published by the Turkish Parliament’s Refugee Subcommittee, there are 311.000 babies of Syrian origin, born in Turkey but deprived of both Turkish and Syrian citizenship. Nevertheless, state news agency Anadolu announced that the International Pediatric Association (IPA) would give its International Peace Award to president Erdoğan for his contributions to the lives of refugee children.
Apparently, the Turkish governments plans to deport a part of the Syrian refugees living in Turkey back to Syria. Already shortly after the start of Turkish military operation in Afrin, president Erdoğan said – while speaking to provincial leaders at his presidential palace – that “We are not in a position to continue hosting 3.5 million refugees forever. We’ll solve the situation in Afrin […] and we would like our refugee brothers and sisters to return to their own country”. Some journalists argue that this discourse is related to the increasing discontent among Turks towards Syrian refugees living in Turkey. Since the beginning of the Afrin offensive, resentments against Syrians in Turkey have been growing further. Considering this, it is not surprising that in early March Turkish authorities announced their will to set up camps for 170.000 displaced people in nine different regions within Syria, a country that is still in the middle of a war.
ZWEI JAHRE EU-TÜRKEI-DEAL
Zwei Jahre nach Unterzeichnung des EU-Türkei-Abkommens wurde von europäischer Seite bisher nur ein Teil der finanziellen Verpflichtungen erfüllt: die Zahlung von drei Milliar Euro an verschiedene Träger in der Türkei. Ein Großteil der Abmachungen wurde seitens der EU jedoch nicht eingehalten – worüber in den türkischen Medien seltsamerweise kaum berichtet wird: die visafreie Einreise für türkische Staatsangehörige in die EU sowie die Fortführung und Vertiefung der Beitrittsgespräche.
Unterdessen beweisen die türkischen Behörden jedoch weiterhin, dass sie ihren Teil des flüchtlingsrechtlich fragwürdigen Abkommens erfüllen, indem sie Geflüchtete in verschiedenen Grenzregionen festnehmen. Anfang März gaben türkische Behörden an, innerhalb von nur einer Woche 5.371 Migrant_innen aufgegriffen zu haben. Laut einer anderen Quelle stoppten türkische Sicherheitskräfte im Jahr 2017 an der Landgrenze zu Bulgarien und Griechenland insgesamt 50.000 Menschen. Ärzte ohne Grenzen kritisiert gewaltsame Push-Backs in die Türkei, die von bulgarischen Grenzbeamt_innen durchgeführt werden, während die Menschenrechtsorganisation Human Rights Watch von anhaltenden illegalen Push-Backs durch türkische Grenzbeamt_innen an der Grenze zu Syrien berichtet.
Hinsichtlich der Situation auf griechischer Seite betont die von Pro Asyl unterstütze Initiative Refugee Support Aegean, dass die sehr schlechten Aufnahmebedingungen auf den griechischen Inseln Teil der europäischen Abschreckungspolitik gegenüber potentiellen irregulären Migrant_innen aus der Türkei sind. Überfüllung, unzulängliche Infrastruktur und geschlechtsspezifische Gewalt sind nur einige der Probleme in den Hotspots. Trotz der schrecklichen Aufnahmebedingungen und der anhaltenden Abschiebungen von den griechischen Inseln zurück in die Türkei versuchen weiterhin täglich Migrant_innen, in kaum seetauglichen Booten auf die griechischen Inseln zu gelangen. Nach wie vor enden viele dieser Reisen tödlich, so wie am 17. März, als 16 Menschen, darunter mindestens 5 Kinder, ertranken, nachdem ihr Boot gekentert war. Gegen die griechischen Behörden werden in diesem Zusammenhang seitens der Angehörigen massive Vorwürfe erhoben: Sie sollen den Betroffenen trotz vieler Hilferufe durch einen Verwandten nicht zur Hilfe geeilt sein und damit ihren Tod billigend in Kauf genommen haben.
Inzwischen beantragen auch immer mehr türkische Staatsbürger_innen – vor allem entlassene Beamt_innen –, Asyl in Griechenland. Nach Angaben griechischer Behörden stellten 2017 insgesamt 1.800 türkische Staatsangehörige einen Asylantrag.
DIE SITUATION GEFLÜCHTETER KINDER
In den griechischen Hotspots, wo Tausende Menschen in überfüllten Camps und unter schrecklichen Bedingungen ausharren müssen, haben die meisten Kinder keinen Zugang zu Bildung. Ähnlich problematisch ist die Situation geflüchteter Kinder in der Türkei. Abgesehen von dem begrenzten Zugang zu Bildung ist der rechtliche Status von in der Türkei geborenen syrischen Kindern oftmals ungeklärt. Laut einem Bericht des Flüchtlingsausschusses des türkischen Parlaments leben in der Türkei 311.000 Kinder syrischer Eltern, die in der Türkei geboren wurden, aber weder die türkische noch die syrische Staatsbürgerschaft erhalten. Dessen ungeachtet gab die staatliche Nachrichtenagentur Anadolu bekannt, dass die International Pediatric Association Präsident Erdoğan den Internationalen Friedenspreis für sein Engagement für Flüchtlingskinder verleihen werde.
DIE AFRIN-OPERATION UND DIE FLÜCHTLINGSLAGER IN SYRIEN
Offenbar plant die türkische Regierung, einen Teil der syrischen Geflüchteten im Land nach Syrien abzuschieben. Bereits kurz nach Beginn der türkischen Militäroperation in Afrin erklärte Präsident Erdoğan im Zuge von Gesprächen mit Lokalpolitiker_innen: „Wir sind nicht in der Lage, 3,5 Millionen Flüchtlinge für immer zu beherbergen. Wir werden die Situation in Afrin regeln […] und wir möchten, dass unsere geflüchteten Brüder und Schwestern in ihr eigenes Land zurückkehren.“ Einige Journalist_innen sind der Ansicht, dass derartige Aussagen in Zusammenhang mit der zunehmenden Unzufriedenheit in Teilen der türkischen Bevölkerung hinsichtlich der im Land lebenden syrischen Geflüchteten zu sehen sind. Seit Beginn der Afrin-Offensive sind die Ressentiments gegenüber Syrer_innen sogar noch weiter angewachsen. Und so verwundert es auch nicht, dass türkische Behörden Anfang März verkündet haben, Flüchtlingslager für insgesamt 170.000 Vertriebene in neun verschiedenen Regionen Syriens errichten zu wollen – in einem Land, das sich nach wie vor im Krieg befindet
Das ist ein wenig verwirrend. Die 3 Milliarden wurden ja schon vor zwei Jahren zugesichert. Und jetzt nochmal? Das macht ja wenig Sinn. Wurde das Geld schon ausgezahlt oder haben sie jetzt nur nochmals zugesichert, dass sie es auch wirklich bezahlen werden? Und die 3 Milliarden sind ja auch nur die erste Tranche von insgesamt 6 Milliarden, richtig? Das wird in dem Absatz alles nicht so richtig klar…Und für was wurde das Geld überwiesen?
Via Spiegel Online – Turkey has barricaded its border to Syria with the help of funding from the European Union. There are few options left for Syrians trying to flee the brutal war in their home country and those who do risk death.
Continue reading Firing at Refugees: EU Money Helped Fortify Turkey’s Border