Fortress Europe Border Updates
Never ending Odyssey
Updates from the ground: Saturday 18.04.2020 until Monday, 20.04.2020
Saturday 18.04.2020
A group of 50 people, mainly families, arrived from Malatya Camp to Izmir in the morning. They called the NGO numbers we provided: the Red Crescent redirected them to the police, ASAM (local UNHCR partner) never picked up the phone. Our local partners, some independent volunteers, tried to reach them but were hindered by police again and again. Finally, a bus arrived, though it didn’t move for a long time. Eventually, it started to drive in the direction of the deportation camp, as was observed by the volunteers. We had had contact with someone in that group until then. Now we are unable to reach them, the phone is off - either taken away or there is no signal anymore.
The families that were left behind in Trabzon on Friday first reported that finally, a bus had arrived to take them home. Unfortunately, it turned out that they were instead taken to another detention center. Our contact sent us another devastating voice message: “I do not know what they will do with our lives, they took us to prison again.”
At 2pm we received the absurd story of a Syrian man fined for walking home from the Istanbul bus station where he had just been dropped off. He had been transported to Istanbul and told to go home, instructions he was following. Police stopped him and gave him a fine of 3180 Turkish Lira (420 Euro) as due to the lockdown, walking is prohibited in Istanbul.
The group of people who had been in transport to Mersin since yesterday arrived. Outside in the streets without money or any support, they sent us a video, describing their situation. Due to the lockdown, nobody could reach them to help. Only police officers were in the streets, but they simply ignored them. Our local partners successfully used the video to pressure the immigration office, so finally, all of them were taken to a hotel.
Between all this bad news leaving us devastated and angry, we got another update from a group of 33 Syrians currently staying in a camp in Yalova. They told us how nice the police were treating them, sharing their cigarettes and taking care of them. This just goes to show that each and every one has a choice, no matter the circumstances. Even in such a situation, a tiny little bit of humanity goes a long way.
Late at night, our local partner in Istanbul was contacted for help by a couple with their child staying in the streets of Istanbul for nine hours, after returning there from the quarantine camp. He managed to arrange a hotel room for them, paid from our donations.
Sunday 19.04.2020
We are still trying to figure out what happened to the group of Algerians that had been staying in a gym for six days as the NGOs we advised them to contact did not reply to their calls asking for help (Link). Buses were supposed to be organized and take them home Friday already. That never happened: we received the message that they were taken back to a detention prison in Malatya. It is especially saddening as after leaving the camp they were left to fend for themselves, with no one able to help them and now they are back in prison-like conditions. When they were still hoping for transportation back to Istanbul, they told me they had almost no food left, but that was not such a big issue for them as due to their despair and fear, they could barely eat anyways.
During the night, a group from a detention center near Ankara contacted us, they had been staying there since Friday. Authorities started preparing buses to move them, they were told they would be taken back to their cities. We certainly hope so!
We finally heard again from the group of 60 Iranians we had been so worried about. 30 of them had been released on Friday and dropped off in Kütahya - but, shortly after, imprisoned again in Kütayha detention center. They were started to be moved to an undisclosed destination. All we know is that they were told that the drive will take seven hours. They are in a terrible condition, suffering from the memories and hardships of the last six weeks as well as from the physical pain from injuries after abuse they sustained from Greek soldiers.
Finally we also got back in touch with the other part of that group: in the same place but in a different building. They are moving them too. They started at 03:30pm.
The group from Yalova is on the way back to their respective cities, Konya, Adana, Kilis, Adiyaman, and Kayseri.
At 8pm, we got the information that authorities in the detention center near Ankara, where a group of people from Malatya-quarantine camp stayed since Friday, are preparing buses. People were told they would be taken home.
Monday 20.04.2020
The most shocking information of the day is that many people from Pazarkule lost their status as registered refugees as they had their “Kimlik” suspended, the ID-document anyone registered in Turkey (whether refugee, citizen or exchange students) carries. We know of a minimum of 3000 people as of now. There is no official info or documents on the suspension. The IDs are just not valid anymore. We have been trying to find out more about that since yesterday.
The group that was held in the detention center in Ankara is more and more nervous, as authorities are moving them very slowly and they do not trust them to really take them home.
As announced the group that was in detention in the deportation camp in Izmir for Friday and Saturday was moved today, first to the bus station in Izmir, but finally they drove them to Manisa - to just leave them there in the streets.
By now, the Malatya quarantine camp is completely empty, while there are still some people held in Osmaniye camp.
Our recently adopted system of distributing the numbers of bigger NGOs like ASAM to let people call them and ask for help while we are also pressuring them to get active seems to have lost its power. While many groups got help this way during the past week, most of them haven't gotten any since the weekend. The NGOs either did not pick up, denied help or referred them to the police. So in the end, even those who were released from the quarantine camps were subsequently taken to another detention center if we were not able to reach them ourselves or enlist local partners and continue to be moved around between different camps, without knowing neither where they are taken nor when this will finally end.
Saturday 18.04.2020
A group of 50 people, mainly families, arrived from Malatya Camp to Izmir in the morning. They called the NGO numbers we provided: the Red Crescent redirected them to the police, ASAM (local UNHCR partner) never picked up the phone. Our local partners, some independent volunteers, tried to reach them but were hindered by police again and again. Finally, a bus arrived, though it didn’t move for a long time. Eventually, it started to drive in the direction of the deportation camp, as was observed by the volunteers. We had had contact with someone in that group until then. Now we are unable to reach them, the phone is off - either taken away or there is no signal anymore.
The families that were left behind in Trabzon on Friday first reported that finally, a bus had arrived to take them home. Unfortunately, it turned out that they were instead taken to another detention center. Our contact sent us another devastating voice message: “I do not know what they will do with our lives, they took us to prison again.”
At 2pm we received the absurd story of a Syrian man fined for walking home from the Istanbul bus station where he had just been dropped off. He had been transported to Istanbul and told to go home, instructions he was following. Police stopped him and gave him a fine of 3180 Turkish Lira (420 Euro) as due to the lockdown, walking is prohibited in Istanbul.
The group of people who had been in transport to Mersin since yesterday arrived. Outside in the streets without money or any support, they sent us a video, describing their situation. Due to the lockdown, nobody could reach them to help. Only police officers were in the streets, but they simply ignored them. Our local partners successfully used the video to pressure the immigration office, so finally, all of them were taken to a hotel.
Between all this bad news leaving us devastated and angry, we got another update from a group of 33 Syrians currently staying in a camp in Yalova. They told us how nice the police were treating them, sharing their cigarettes and taking care of them. This just goes to show that each and every one has a choice, no matter the circumstances. Even in such a situation, a tiny little bit of humanity goes a long way.
Late at night, our local partner in Istanbul was contacted for help by a couple with their child staying in the streets of Istanbul for nine hours, after returning there from the quarantine camp. He managed to arrange a hotel room for them, paid from our donations.
Sunday 19.04.2020
We are still trying to figure out what happened to the group of Algerians that had been staying in a gym for six days as the NGOs we advised them to contact did not reply to their calls asking for help (Link). Buses were supposed to be organized and take them home Friday already. That never happened: we received the message that they were taken back to a detention prison in Malatya. It is especially saddening as after leaving the camp they were left to fend for themselves, with no one able to help them and now they are back in prison-like conditions. When they were still hoping for transportation back to Istanbul, they told me they had almost no food left, but that was not such a big issue for them as due to their despair and fear, they could barely eat anyways.
During the night, a group from a detention center near Ankara contacted us, they had been staying there since Friday. Authorities started preparing buses to move them, they were told they would be taken back to their cities. We certainly hope so!
We finally heard again from the group of 60 Iranians we had been so worried about. 30 of them had been released on Friday and dropped off in Kütahya - but, shortly after, imprisoned again in Kütayha detention center. They were started to be moved to an undisclosed destination. All we know is that they were told that the drive will take seven hours. They are in a terrible condition, suffering from the memories and hardships of the last six weeks as well as from the physical pain from injuries after abuse they sustained from Greek soldiers.
Finally we also got back in touch with the other part of that group: in the same place but in a different building. They are moving them too. They started at 03:30pm.
The group from Yalova is on the way back to their respective cities, Konya, Adana, Kilis, Adiyaman, and Kayseri.
At 8pm, we got the information that authorities in the detention center near Ankara, where a group of people from Malatya-quarantine camp stayed since Friday, are preparing buses. People were told they would be taken home.
Monday 20.04.2020
The most shocking information of the day is that many people from Pazarkule lost their status as registered refugees as they had their “Kimlik” suspended, the ID-document anyone registered in Turkey (whether refugee, citizen or exchange students) carries. We know of a minimum of 3000 people as of now. There is no official info or documents on the suspension. The IDs are just not valid anymore. We have been trying to find out more about that since yesterday.
The group that was held in the detention center in Ankara is more and more nervous, as authorities are moving them very slowly and they do not trust them to really take them home.
As announced the group that was in detention in the deportation camp in Izmir for Friday and Saturday was moved today, first to the bus station in Izmir, but finally they drove them to Manisa - to just leave them there in the streets.
By now, the Malatya quarantine camp is completely empty, while there are still some people held in Osmaniye camp.
Our recently adopted system of distributing the numbers of bigger NGOs like ASAM to let people call them and ask for help while we are also pressuring them to get active seems to have lost its power. While many groups got help this way during the past week, most of them haven't gotten any since the weekend. The NGOs either did not pick up, denied help or referred them to the police. So in the end, even those who were released from the quarantine camps were subsequently taken to another detention center if we were not able to reach them ourselves or enlist local partners and continue to be moved around between different camps, without knowing neither where they are taken nor when this will finally end.
