Fortress Europe Border Updates
Evacuation of the Camp at Pazarkule
A short summary of the events today - 26.3.2020 - in Edirne
In the afternoon, police informed people in the "camp" at Pazarkule/Edirne that the camp would be forcibly evacuated due to Corona. The several thousand people who remained were given the choice between getting on the buses waiting for them to be taken to Istanbul, where they were told dormitories were ready for them so they could be quarantined. The other choice was for them to gather in the no-man's land between the Greek and Turkish border crossings (Kastanies and Pazarkule).
People were worried that would be another lie from the Turkish side and did not want to get on the buses. Many - we do not know exact numbers - were forced onto them despite this, sometimes violently. The number of people crammed into each bus was definitely a greater deal than allowed according to the COVID-19 measures in place in Turkey. At least they got a meal on the buses - the first one in several days for many.
We managed to get the locations of several people on different buses. At least one bus definitely did not stop in Istanbul, but is instead allegedly driving to Malatya, a city beyond Ankara in the middle of Turkey, a 15 hour drive from Edirne (instead of the promised 3 hours to Istanbul).
We are in contact with the second group of buses and don't know of their final destination yet.
The third group of people are currently still stuck in the no man's land between the border crossings of Greece and Turkey. Their camp has been completely destroyed and they are left with nothing, once again.
In the afternoon, police informed people in the "camp" at Pazarkule/Edirne that the camp would be forcibly evacuated due to Corona. The several thousand people who remained were given the choice between getting on the buses waiting for them to be taken to Istanbul, where they were told dormitories were ready for them so they could be quarantined. The other choice was for them to gather in the no-man's land between the Greek and Turkish border crossings (Kastanies and Pazarkule).
People were worried that would be another lie from the Turkish side and did not want to get on the buses. Many - we do not know exact numbers - were forced onto them despite this, sometimes violently. The number of people crammed into each bus was definitely a greater deal than allowed according to the COVID-19 measures in place in Turkey. At least they got a meal on the buses - the first one in several days for many.
We managed to get the locations of several people on different buses. At least one bus definitely did not stop in Istanbul, but is instead allegedly driving to Malatya, a city beyond Ankara in the middle of Turkey, a 15 hour drive from Edirne (instead of the promised 3 hours to Istanbul).
We are in contact with the second group of buses and don't know of their final destination yet.
The third group of people are currently still stuck in the no man's land between the border crossings of Greece and Turkey. Their camp has been completely destroyed and they are left with nothing, once again.
