Sleepless Minds
Left in their underwear and beaten on their back to run towards the Turkish territory
Yet another pushback - a typical description of border violence and its effect on individual lives
Abdulrahman is a young, friendly man. Three years ago he fled with his family, made up of his father, two brothers, three sisters, aunt and her little daughter from Syria to Turkey. His mother died in Syria. For three years they lived together in Urfa, a large city in southeastern Turkey, in a two-room apartment. They never had much money, but they made ends meet. Abdulrahman, as the oldest, his father and the older one of the two younger brothers worked at construction sites or repaired electrical appliances, whenever work was available. The eldest sister was sometimes able to find work in a tailor shop.
But since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, it became increasingly difficult to get access to jobs, and wages became lower and lower - if they were paid at all. The economic crisis in Turkey further aggravated the situation, and soon their meager income was no longer enough to pay for the bare necessities. Actually, Abdulrahman did not want to leave Turkey. For the last three years, the family had never seriously considered fleeing further to Europe. But the economic hardship became more and more severe and finally he had no choice but to hope for a job in Europe to support the family that stayed behind.
Almost two months ago, in early April, Abdulrahman and his father left Urfa in order to try and reach Europe. The others stayed behind, it would be too dangerous, too arduous and anyway far too expensive for them to attempt it together. The brothers would have to somehow try to make enough money to pay for rent and food during the transitional period. The younger two sisters, still children, would now also have to work until Abdulrahman and the father would finally send money.
They crossed the entire country, and after a few days, they finally reached the border town of Edirne. From there the plan was to enter the EU via Bulgaria, and then continue on. They did not mind what country they ended up in. The main thing was that they wanted to find a job quickly, support their family, and let the younger siblings play again, instead of working.
On their first attempt, they saw the border police from afar, and decided to return to Turkey. They were full of fear as they had heard the horror stories of people being beaten and humiliated, and in no way did they want to have to experience the same. A few days later they tried to cross again, this time in a larger group, but they again saw the police cars and turned back. On the third attempt, they made it a little further inland until they turned back in front of the police.
Before the fourth attempt, they decided not to return this time, no matter what. They set out just the two of them, ran across the border at night, and made it about 16 kilometres before they were picked up by the Bulgarian police. Two officers beat them with branches and batons. Abdulrahmen's back was littered with bruises, hematomas and cuts. His father had numerous open wounds on his legs and back. They were loaded into the trunk of a car and pushed back across the border, beaten again and forced to return to Turkey amid threats and insults.
"I was so afraid of being beaten again. The wounds had not yet healed, every movement hurt. And yet we knew we had no choice. Our family needs us. The situation is too bad, we had to try again."
A few days later, they tried again. This time they left in a group of eight Syrian men.They too left family members behind in Turkey and Syria and had also tried to get to Europe several times before but had been pushed back. They set off in the afternoon towards the border and climbed through a hole in the border fence. After 14 kilometres, they took a break. While sleeping in the forest, they were approached by a Bulgarian border policeman.
"He said he had been looking for us for four hours. He had been following our footprints on the ground. He complained that he even hurt himself while following us through the dense forest. He looked tired, so we shared our water and milk with him."
The officer asked the group to follow him and led them through the forest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, he kept talking into his walkie talkie, which had the EU flag stuck on the back. Finally, the group reached the road, where two more officers were already waiting. The eight men were locked into a pick-up truck.
"They drove fast and reckless for about 30 minutes over rough, winding roads. There were no seats. We were crammed into the trunk, which had an area of one cubic meter."
After they reached the border area again, five of the eight men were dragged out of the car, including Abdulrahman's father, while he himself was left in the car. Afterwards, his father told him that they were forced to strip down to their underwear. All their possessions were stolen from them, cell phones, power banks, money - and clothes and shoes. They were beaten with branches and plastic sticks. Then, still in their underwear, they were beaten through the border fence back into Turkey. They had to crawl through a small, unofficial opening in the fence. From there, they had to walk about five kilometres until they got to the next village, from where they were able to take a cab to Edirne.
Abdulrahman and the other two men who had been left in the car were taken for another 30 minutes on the same bumpy road to another spot next to the border fence. There they were met by three more Bulgarian border police officers. They also had to strip down to their underwear and had their money, cell phones, papers and shoes stolen from them. They were also beaten on their backs with branches and plastic sticks before being also pushed back into Turkey through a hole in the fence at the border.
Fortunately, in Edirne, Abdulrahman was able to find his father again. Not all people who are separated during the pushbacks find their relatives and friends afterwards - numerous people go missing.
Abdulrahman and his father are still in Edirne, two weeks after their last pushback. Both are still in severe pain from the border violence. And yet they realise they have to try again.
"We don't have a choice. If the situation wasn't so hopeless for our family, we wouldn't have left them in the first place. If there was any other way, we wouldn't try again."
For now, though, they need to rest a bit and let their wounds heal.
"I don’t have anything else to say, I don’t expect anything any more from Europe. This is what happened to us, what else is there to say. We are now looking for a safe way, somehow it must be possible to get to Europe without being beaten up. I can't bear to be treated like this again. We have to find a safer way, then we'll go again. "
Abdulrahman is a young, friendly man. Three years ago he fled with his family, made up of his father, two brothers, three sisters, aunt and her little daughter from Syria to Turkey. His mother died in Syria. For three years they lived together in Urfa, a large city in southeastern Turkey, in a two-room apartment. They never had much money, but they made ends meet. Abdulrahman, as the oldest, his father and the older one of the two younger brothers worked at construction sites or repaired electrical appliances, whenever work was available. The eldest sister was sometimes able to find work in a tailor shop.
But since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, it became increasingly difficult to get access to jobs, and wages became lower and lower - if they were paid at all. The economic crisis in Turkey further aggravated the situation, and soon their meager income was no longer enough to pay for the bare necessities. Actually, Abdulrahman did not want to leave Turkey. For the last three years, the family had never seriously considered fleeing further to Europe. But the economic hardship became more and more severe and finally he had no choice but to hope for a job in Europe to support the family that stayed behind.
Almost two months ago, in early April, Abdulrahman and his father left Urfa in order to try and reach Europe. The others stayed behind, it would be too dangerous, too arduous and anyway far too expensive for them to attempt it together. The brothers would have to somehow try to make enough money to pay for rent and food during the transitional period. The younger two sisters, still children, would now also have to work until Abdulrahman and the father would finally send money.
They crossed the entire country, and after a few days, they finally reached the border town of Edirne. From there the plan was to enter the EU via Bulgaria, and then continue on. They did not mind what country they ended up in. The main thing was that they wanted to find a job quickly, support their family, and let the younger siblings play again, instead of working.
On their first attempt, they saw the border police from afar, and decided to return to Turkey. They were full of fear as they had heard the horror stories of people being beaten and humiliated, and in no way did they want to have to experience the same. A few days later they tried to cross again, this time in a larger group, but they again saw the police cars and turned back. On the third attempt, they made it a little further inland until they turned back in front of the police.
Before the fourth attempt, they decided not to return this time, no matter what. They set out just the two of them, ran across the border at night, and made it about 16 kilometres before they were picked up by the Bulgarian police. Two officers beat them with branches and batons. Abdulrahmen's back was littered with bruises, hematomas and cuts. His father had numerous open wounds on his legs and back. They were loaded into the trunk of a car and pushed back across the border, beaten again and forced to return to Turkey amid threats and insults.
"I was so afraid of being beaten again. The wounds had not yet healed, every movement hurt. And yet we knew we had no choice. Our family needs us. The situation is too bad, we had to try again."
A few days later, they tried again. This time they left in a group of eight Syrian men.They too left family members behind in Turkey and Syria and had also tried to get to Europe several times before but had been pushed back. They set off in the afternoon towards the border and climbed through a hole in the border fence. After 14 kilometres, they took a break. While sleeping in the forest, they were approached by a Bulgarian border policeman.
"He said he had been looking for us for four hours. He had been following our footprints on the ground. He complained that he even hurt himself while following us through the dense forest. He looked tired, so we shared our water and milk with him."
The officer asked the group to follow him and led them through the forest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, he kept talking into his walkie talkie, which had the EU flag stuck on the back. Finally, the group reached the road, where two more officers were already waiting. The eight men were locked into a pick-up truck.
"They drove fast and reckless for about 30 minutes over rough, winding roads. There were no seats. We were crammed into the trunk, which had an area of one cubic meter."
After they reached the border area again, five of the eight men were dragged out of the car, including Abdulrahman's father, while he himself was left in the car. Afterwards, his father told him that they were forced to strip down to their underwear. All their possessions were stolen from them, cell phones, power banks, money - and clothes and shoes. They were beaten with branches and plastic sticks. Then, still in their underwear, they were beaten through the border fence back into Turkey. They had to crawl through a small, unofficial opening in the fence. From there, they had to walk about five kilometres until they got to the next village, from where they were able to take a cab to Edirne.
Abdulrahman and the other two men who had been left in the car were taken for another 30 minutes on the same bumpy road to another spot next to the border fence. There they were met by three more Bulgarian border police officers. They also had to strip down to their underwear and had their money, cell phones, papers and shoes stolen from them. They were also beaten on their backs with branches and plastic sticks before being also pushed back into Turkey through a hole in the fence at the border.
Fortunately, in Edirne, Abdulrahman was able to find his father again. Not all people who are separated during the pushbacks find their relatives and friends afterwards - numerous people go missing.
Abdulrahman and his father are still in Edirne, two weeks after their last pushback. Both are still in severe pain from the border violence. And yet they realise they have to try again.
"We don't have a choice. If the situation wasn't so hopeless for our family, we wouldn't have left them in the first place. If there was any other way, we wouldn't try again."
For now, though, they need to rest a bit and let their wounds heal.
"I don’t have anything else to say, I don’t expect anything any more from Europe. This is what happened to us, what else is there to say. We are now looking for a safe way, somehow it must be possible to get to Europe without being beaten up. I can't bear to be treated like this again. We have to find a safer way, then we'll go again. "
