This morning, I received an email. Ismail*, a young man from Afghanistan, asked if we could help him to continue his studies in Turkey. To provide us with some background information, he told us that he had just been pushed back from Greece. Whenever we hear the word “push-back”, alarm bells go off. Push-backs are an increasingly common, criminal act undertaken by border forces, practiced in all countries across the Balkan route and on the Mediterranean sea. In a push- back, instead of granting asylum seekers their right to apply for asylum, border forces violently push refugees back to the neighboring country they entered from - thus violating international law, Article 33 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and the human rights convention.
We have a lot of experience with push- backs in our work in Turkey, but Ismail’s case is extremely shocking.
Alarmed by his brief account, I asked him for more details. He provided them - and I was shocked to learn that he was homeless in Istanbul without food or any other belongings, which he previously hadn’t mentioned when he initially contacted me. All he wanted was some help with finding a way to continue his studies - whilst he did not even know where to stay, or what to eat. A 22-year-old with nothing left who just wants to make the world a better place, convinced that education is the way to do so.
In addition to providing victims of push-backs who usually have all their belongings - including their documents - taken from them by border forces with food, accommodation, clothes and other essentials, we see our mission in providing refugees with a platform to make their voices heard.
I have combined Ismail’s messages into this text to tell his story in his own words:
“I have just been brutally deported from Greece to Turkey, although I had a legal document (white card). I’m currently living in Turkey without legal status and have no shelter.
I would like to attain a legal document to live legally in Turkey as a refugee. Can you help me with this process?
I have been living in Greece as an asylum seeker for a year and a half, and I have also worked at a refugee camp as an interpreter for one year.
I have graduated high school. I completed secondary education in Afghanistan, then continued my education and studies at a post-secondary level, two years, but unfortunately, I could not complete due to the conflict, insecurity and death threats.
I also attended computer courses and English lessons, reaching the B2 level. I have work experience of one year, teaching English language at a public school.
When I was still living in Afghanistan, I was constantly looking for opportunities and educational development. Also during my short stay in Greece, I still continued looking for educational development opportunities.
I do not want to be returned back to my country because my life there is under threat.
I left my country because of constant bloody upheaval and security problems.
My father died in a suicide bomb attack when I was 18 years old. Since then, the responsibility of my family has been on my shoulders. I have been teaching English voluntarily for local people and to the neighbour's children.
The Taliban then accused me of inviting people to «paganism and apostasy».
I received warning letters where they asked me to join them and fight against the government. That's why my family decided that I have to leave the country, more than four years ago.
I faced hunger, thirst, severe injuries, violence from smugglers and border police from the first day I started my journey, until the day I arrived back in Turkey. I lost the eyesight in my left eye on the border between Serbia and Macedonia when I fell down in the woods in the jungle after heavy strikes by Serbian border police.
I am willing to work hard to become part of a better world, believing that this opportunity starts from education.
I would like to state my great desire to exploit any opportunity to continue my studies.
Thank you very much for your time.
I will be looking forward to your reply.
After hours of talking to him, I started to get a clearer picture of what had happened:
I arrived in Greece in spring of 2018. After more than one month in detention, I received a police paper and was taken to a camp close from Thessaloniki. I stayed there for almost three months in a tent before I was transferred to another camp. I started working on my English language courses along with German language and preparing my documents looking for an opportunity to continue my studies and to find work. Soon I found a job as an interpreter for Farsi, Dari and Pashto. At some point I had my first interview, but everything takes an extremely long period, and I just wanted to continue my studies.
I left Greece only a few days before my white card expired. By doing so I really made a big mistake which I have suffered for every day since. But nobody knows what the future holds. It is just easy to see in hindsight what was wrong and what was right. I thought I would reach a country where I could study and change my future but everything turned upside down.
I actually wanted to renew my white card but the smuggler convinced me that I don't need it anymore because I was planning to go to another country anyways. If I had known what would happen, I would have never left. My aim was just to reach my final destination, Italy, to continue studying and working.
I made it until Serbia, but couldn’t get any further. I spent four months there, one and a half months of which I was in a camp. Then I left the camp - for games (“the game” is what locals and refugees on the Balkan route call the process of refugees trying to cross borders without being pushed back by police). I tried to cross into Romania, but we were always arrested, beaten and they took all our belongings from us. This occurred many times, and they always pushed us back to Serbia. At some point, police in Serbia took us back to the other border and then pushed us back to Macedonia. This was in March 2020. For several days, we stayed in the jungle, trying to cross back into Serbia again. Serbian police pushed us back always, and they beat us heavily. I lost the sight in one eye from their beating. At some point, Macedonian police arrested us and pushed us back to Greece. By cargo train, I went back to Thessaloniki, trying to get back to the camp I was staying in initially. I was almost at the camp when Greek police arrested me. They told us we would get some police papers. I kept telling them that I had a white card but lost it. I wanted to show them the card on my phone, I have pictures of it, but they just took my phone away and ignored what I was saying. They were beating us brutally and took all our belongings from us - money, shoes, bags, everything.
Then, they pushed us back to Turkey. We stayed at the border for three days and nights. Turkish police forced us to go back to Greek territory twice, brutally. The one who drove the boat had civil clothes but the turkish army was embarking us by force. On Greek territory, we refugees were separated. Some were planning to go back to Thessaloniki but me and my friend went to find Greek police to tell them that Turkey had pushed us back and we don't know what to do. Instead of telling us what to do, they started beating us. Then they took us to a dark place. At night, they forced us on boats again and pushed us back. The next day, we were again arrested by Turkish police and sent back to Greek territory by force. They were playing with us as if we were footballs. The same thing happened twice.
At some point I started walking away from the border. I walked until Silivri, 170km. From there I took a taxi, a friend of mine paid for it when I arrived in Istanbul. I had nothing left, so I slept under a bridge for two nights, until I met an Afghani guy, who took me to stay with him for a few days.
My current health condition is not good. My eyesight is getting worse every day. I can't sleep at night because of nightmares, too many thoughts, depression and anxiety. I go to bed with hope of good rest but it never happens. My friends told me that I grind my teeth at night during sleep and I shout too much. I don't know exactly what happens to me. When I go to bed to sleep, I remember awful scenes of what I experienced, and then I can't sleep.
But, either way, I really want to thank God for my health. Others were not as lucky. One of my close friends died in front of my eyes in Macedonia from an electric shock whilst he was trying to get off a train. I saw it happening. He came from Greece to Macedonia on a cargo train, hidden on an oil tanker. He tried to get out of the tanker when his head touched the electric cable. He was electrified and fell on the ground. When I took him in my hands, I saw that his whole body was burned because of the electric shock. I started crying, I was just so disheartened. I said to myself: “what kind of life do we have?” For three days he was in a coma and then his soul was taken by the angels. May his soul rest in peace.
To be honest, sometimes it feels like life in this world makes me obliged to commit sucide. But then I say to myself: I have to fight with hardship because without the pain I struggle with, I wouldn’t be who I am.
I swear, the only reason why I left Greece is that I wanted to reach a country where I can continue my studies. I was constantly looking for opportunities in Greece, but I was not even given the opportunity to learn the Greek language freely. I am thirsty for education to continue my studies in my field. If I could continue my studies in Afghanistan, I would have never left.
Would you please promise me that I will not be deported from Turkey to Afghanistan?
I would prefer to die than to be deported.
I read in google news that Turkey wants to deport 25.000 migrants. Is that true?
I am exhausted from life. I wish I could return to my country, but my life is under serious threat because of the Taliban. I hope I don't waste your precious time.
Ismail is one of the kindest people I have ever talked to. He suffered more than 15 push-backs since November. With all that he has been through, he keeps thanking us in the most polite way - and even wants to join our team. For now, we organised accommodation for him in Turkey and are currently trying our best to get him settled so he can recover from the exertions he has been through in the past five months. But once he did, we cannot imagine a greater addition to our team!
I see, every one of your team members has a unique personality. Your sense of doing something is really inspiring. Doing something purely for humanity is not work of any personality. Nowadays, true humans are few.
I’m proud to know such kind and compassionate people like you. Words fail me how to thank you for your time and compassion. I really appreciate your efforts for what you are doing.
I wish I could compensate you for what you do for people in need. I wish I was your team member as well. May you be triumphant at your tasks and lifely affairs. May God bless you all, you will always be in my prayers. And may God have mercy on all those who suffer from violence all around the world.
I swear, I promise if I get the opportunity to continue my studies and get a job, I will help people too whenever I can. We have to unite to fight against violence and cruelty and for human rights.
*name changed for safety reasons
This morning, I received an email. Ismail*, a young man from Afghanistan, asked if we could help him to continue his studies in Turkey. To provide us with some background information, he told us that he had just been pushed back from Greece. Whenever we hear the word “push-back”, alarm bells go off. Push-backs are an increasingly common, criminal act undertaken by border forces, practiced in all countries across the Balkan route and on the Mediterranean sea. In a push- back, instead of granting asylum seekers their right to apply for asylum, border forces violently push refugees back to the neighboring country they entered from - thus violating international law, Article 33 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and the human rights convention.
We have a lot of experience with push- backs in our work in Turkey, but Ismail’s case is extremely shocking.
Alarmed by his brief account, I asked him for more details. He provided them - and I was shocked to learn that he was homeless in Istanbul without food or any other belongings, which he previously hadn’t mentioned when he initially contacted me. All he wanted was some help with finding a way to continue his studies - whilst he did not even know where to stay, or what to eat. A 22-year-old with nothing left who just wants to make the world a better place, convinced that education is the way to do so.
In addition to providing victims of push-backs who usually have all their belongings - including their documents - taken from them by border forces with food, accommodation, clothes and other essentials, we see our mission in providing refugees with a platform to make their voices heard.
I have combined Ismail’s messages into this text to tell his story in his own words:
“I have just been brutally deported from Greece to Turkey, although I had a legal document (white card). I’m currently living in Turkey without legal status and have no shelter.
I would like to attain a legal document to live legally in Turkey as a refugee. Can you help me with this process?
I have been living in Greece as an asylum seeker for a year and a half, and I have also worked at a refugee camp as an interpreter for one year.
I have graduated high school. I completed secondary education in Afghanistan, then continued my education and studies at a post-secondary level, two years, but unfortunately, I could not complete due to the conflict, insecurity and death threats.
I also attended computer courses and English lessons, reaching the B2 level. I have work experience of one year, teaching English language at a public school.
When I was still living in Afghanistan, I was constantly looking for opportunities and educational development. Also during my short stay in Greece, I still continued looking for educational development opportunities.
I do not want to be returned back to my country because my life there is under threat.
I left my country because of constant bloody upheaval and security problems.
My father died in a suicide bomb attack when I was 18 years old. Since then, the responsibility of my family has been on my shoulders. I have been teaching English voluntarily for local people and to the neighbour's children.
The Taliban then accused me of inviting people to «paganism and apostasy».
I received warning letters where they asked me to join them and fight against the government. That's why my family decided that I have to leave the country, more than four years ago.
I faced hunger, thirst, severe injuries, violence from smugglers and border police from the first day I started my journey, until the day I arrived back in Turkey. I lost the eyesight in my left eye on the border between Serbia and Macedonia when I fell down in the woods in the jungle after heavy strikes by Serbian border police.
I am willing to work hard to become part of a better world, believing that this opportunity starts from education.
I would like to state my great desire to exploit any opportunity to continue my studies.
Thank you very much for your time.
I will be looking forward to your reply.
After hours of talking to him, I started to get a clearer picture of what had happened:
I arrived in Greece in spring of 2018. After more than one month in detention, I received a police paper and was taken to a camp close from Thessaloniki. I stayed there for almost three months in a tent before I was transferred to another camp. I started working on my English language courses along with German language and preparing my documents looking for an opportunity to continue my studies and to find work. Soon I found a job as an interpreter for Farsi, Dari and Pashto. At some point I had my first interview, but everything takes an extremely long period, and I just wanted to continue my studies.
I left Greece only a few days before my white card expired. By doing so I really made a big mistake which I have suffered for every day since. But nobody knows what the future holds. It is just easy to see in hindsight what was wrong and what was right. I thought I would reach a country where I could study and change my future but everything turned upside down.
I actually wanted to renew my white card but the smuggler convinced me that I don't need it anymore because I was planning to go to another country anyways. If I had known what would happen, I would have never left. My aim was just to reach my final destination, Italy, to continue studying and working.
I made it until Serbia, but couldn’t get any further. I spent four months there, one and a half months of which I was in a camp. Then I left the camp - for games (“the game” is what locals and refugees on the Balkan route call the process of refugees trying to cross borders without being pushed back by police). I tried to cross into Romania, but we were always arrested, beaten and they took all our belongings from us. This occurred many times, and they always pushed us back to Serbia. At some point, police in Serbia took us back to the other border and then pushed us back to Macedonia. This was in March 2020. For several days, we stayed in the jungle, trying to cross back into Serbia again. Serbian police pushed us back always, and they beat us heavily. I lost the sight in one eye from their beating. At some point, Macedonian police arrested us and pushed us back to Greece. By cargo train, I went back to Thessaloniki, trying to get back to the camp I was staying in initially. I was almost at the camp when Greek police arrested me. They told us we would get some police papers. I kept telling them that I had a white card but lost it. I wanted to show them the card on my phone, I have pictures of it, but they just took my phone away and ignored what I was saying. They were beating us brutally and took all our belongings from us - money, shoes, bags, everything.
Then, they pushed us back to Turkey. We stayed at the border for three days and nights. Turkish police forced us to go back to Greek territory twice, brutally. The one who drove the boat had civil clothes but the turkish army was embarking us by force. On Greek territory, we refugees were separated. Some were planning to go back to Thessaloniki but me and my friend went to find Greek police to tell them that Turkey had pushed us back and we don't know what to do. Instead of telling us what to do, they started beating us. Then they took us to a dark place. At night, they forced us on boats again and pushed us back. The next day, we were again arrested by Turkish police and sent back to Greek territory by force. They were playing with us as if we were footballs. The same thing happened twice.
At some point I started walking away from the border. I walked until Silivri, 170km. From there I took a taxi, a friend of mine paid for it when I arrived in Istanbul. I had nothing left, so I slept under a bridge for two nights, until I met an Afghani guy, who took me to stay with him for a few days.
My current health condition is not good. My eyesight is getting worse every day. I can't sleep at night because of nightmares, too many thoughts, depression and anxiety. I go to bed with hope of good rest but it never happens. My friends told me that I grind my teeth at night during sleep and I shout too much. I don't know exactly what happens to me. When I go to bed to sleep, I remember awful scenes of what I experienced, and then I can't sleep.
But, either way, I really want to thank God for my health. Others were not as lucky. One of my close friends died in front of my eyes in Macedonia from an electric shock whilst he was trying to get off a train. I saw it happening. He came from Greece to Macedonia on a cargo train, hidden on an oil tanker. He tried to get out of the tanker when his head touched the electric cable. He was electrified and fell on the ground. When I took him in my hands, I saw that his whole body was burned because of the electric shock. I started crying, I was just so disheartened. I said to myself: “what kind of life do we have?” For three days he was in a coma and then his soul was taken by the angels. May his soul rest in peace.
To be honest, sometimes it feels like life in this world makes me obliged to commit sucide. But then I say to myself: I have to fight with hardship because without the pain I struggle with, I wouldn’t be who I am.
I swear, the only reason why I left Greece is that I wanted to reach a country where I can continue my studies. I was constantly looking for opportunities in Greece, but I was not even given the opportunity to learn the Greek language freely. I am thirsty for education to continue my studies in my field. If I could continue my studies in Afghanistan, I would have never left.
Would you please promise me that I will not be deported from Turkey to Afghanistan?
I would prefer to die than to be deported.
I read in google news that Turkey wants to deport 25.000 migrants. Is that true?
I am exhausted from life. I wish I could return to my country, but my life is under serious threat because of the Taliban. I hope I don't waste your precious time.
Ismail is one of the kindest people I have ever talked to. He suffered more than 15 push-backs since November. With all that he has been through, he keeps thanking us in the most polite way - and even wants to join our team. For now, we organised accommodation for him in Turkey and are currently trying our best to get him settled so he can recover from the exertions he has been through in the past five months. But once he did, we cannot imagine a greater addition to our team!
I see, every one of your team members has a unique personality. Your sense of doing something is really inspiring. Doing something purely for humanity is not work of any personality. Nowadays, true humans are few.
I’m proud to know such kind and compassionate people like you. Words fail me how to thank you for your time and compassion. I really appreciate your efforts for what you are doing.
I wish I could compensate you for what you do for people in need. I wish I was your team member as well. May you be triumphant at your tasks and lifely affairs. May God bless you all, you will always be in my prayers. And may God have mercy on all those who suffer from violence all around the world.
I swear, I promise if I get the opportunity to continue my studies and get a job, I will help people too whenever I can. We have to unite to fight against violence and cruelty and for human rights.
*name changed for safety reasons
