After the Pazarkule border crossing was cleared, people were taken to several different locations across Turkey. So far we know of at least one group based in a gym in Edirne. Another group is housed in a town near the Bulgarian border. At least eight buses full of people were taken to Malatya, from where we received a call for help from a woman who received no food for 48 hours. Other contacts reported that food was distributed, but the food available was insufficient for the number of people. We are continuing to try to obtain detailed information in order to figure out the situation at each location and see how we can support the people who are now based there.
It appears that this quarantine will now persist for two weeks at the very minimum. However, the people cannot self-isolate as they still have to wait in overcrowded lines for the food distribution, as demonstrated in the video. We are hoping that Coronavirus was not just used as an excuse in order to get the people out of the public sight. Now that they have disappeared from the border area, Europe has lost the last bit of interest that may have remained in the refugees and their wellbeing.
Around 250 people are currently still in the border area, some of them in hotels, others staying in fields or abandoned buildings. These groups are still supported by our local team.
The bus station in Istanbul is due to be closed in the next few days due to Coronavirus safety measures, as travels across Turkey will become highly restricted. The team in Istanbul has managed to organise bus tickets for the majority of the people who remain across the duration of the past two days. Some of them have been injured by force used by the Greek police (see pictures) and were treated by us as best as we could with the limited supplies we have available, before they continue their journey.
Four families, all with young children, still live in the storage room at the bus station. They don't have a place to return to, nor do they have any savings left to start over.
After the Pazarkule border crossing was cleared, people were taken to several different locations across Turkey. So far we know of at least one group based in a gym in Edirne. Another group is housed in a town near the Bulgarian border. At least eight buses full of people were taken to Malatya, from where we received a call for help from a woman who received no food for 48 hours. Other contacts reported that food was distributed, but the food available was insufficient for the number of people. We are continuing to try to obtain detailed information in order to figure out the situation at each location and see how we can support the people who are now based there.
It appears that this quarantine will now persist for two weeks at the very minimum. However, the people cannot self-isolate as they still have to wait in overcrowded lines for the food distribution, as demonstrated in the video. We are hoping that Coronavirus was not just used as an excuse in order to get the people out of the public sight. Now that they have disappeared from the border area, Europe has lost the last bit of interest that may have remained in the refugees and their wellbeing.
Around 250 people are currently still in the border area, some of them in hotels, others staying in fields or abandoned buildings. These groups are still supported by our local team.
The bus station in Istanbul is due to be closed in the next few days due to Coronavirus safety measures, as travels across Turkey will become highly restricted. The team in Istanbul has managed to organise bus tickets for the majority of the people who remain across the duration of the past two days. Some of them have been injured by force used by the Greek police (see pictures) and were treated by us as best as we could with the limited supplies we have available, before they continue their journey.
Four families, all with young children, still live in the storage room at the bus station. They don't have a place to return to, nor do they have any savings left to start over.
