Fortress Europe Border Updates
Update from Edirne: Day 6 - 16.03.2020
Eva and Lorenz report on their last day in Edirne
Since we were told by police to stop distributing donations yesterday (something they had never allowed us to do but tolerated for a while), we decided to hand over some of our donations to our local Turkish colleagues. They purchased food (with 40% discount) and handed it out from their car.
Things were rather calm today, not many people were allowed to leave the camp to go to the village and those who did get a permission today were quickly told to leave the main street by police. Less and less people are staying inside the camp, many have been transported elsewhere by now.
Due to this movement as well as the increasing problems with police, we decided to relocate to Istanbul where many refugees are currently stranded in parks and bus stations after having been asked to leave/were transported back by police.
We were able to organize medicine – cough syrup was requested the most… - and bring it inside the closed area through our local contacts. Additionally, we managed to get 300 packs of disinfectant. We left half of it with our colleagues and took the other half with us.
Right when we were leaving Edirne to Istanbul, we got a distress call from a Syrian family whom we had given our number yesterday. Last night, they were forced to leave the camp and were given two choices: crossing the river to Greece or going to Istanbul. They were brought to a “camp” of the Red Crescent. They were then taken to the river together with a few other people and made to cross it. On the other side, they were caught by Greek military after only 200m. They had their money, IDs, documents, shoes and all mobile phones taken away from them except a single one they were able to hide. They were then returned to Turkey and dropped off in a field 25km from Edirne. In a tiny hut they found, they set up camp and sent us the location. We brought water, food, shoes and medicine. One of their kids, a five-year-old, has fever, another one is only two months old.
Among their group was a woman who was brought to the Red Crescent camp against her will while her three children remained at the border camp. Our local contacts organized busses to pick the whole group up and bring them back to Pazarkule, from where they were then taken back to the same Red Crescent camp they had just left.
This as well as other accounts confirm the statement police made yesterday about dissolving the camp at the border.
Two men from Congo told me they had been given no information on what to do now. They had their passports taken away from them in Greece, they don’t have a status in Turkey anymore and thus cannot return to their old life in Turkey (which was already hard to begin with). Having their documents taken away from them means they’ve got nothing left to lose now and thus see their only chance in staying at the border, holding on to the last tiny bit of hope that it will be opened eventually.
Our local contacts will continue distributing food and other supplies at the border from tomorrow on until the camp is truly emptied. We cannot give an estimation of how long that might take.
The German Embassy contacted me to tell me that I have to leave Turkey as soon as possible as the last two flights to Germany will be leaving tomorrow due to COVID-19.
It was a very hard decision and I absolutely do not want to leave, but I will comply with this order and fly back to Germany tomorrow. Lorenz will from now on support the people stranded in Istanbul together with other volunteers, as long as the Corona situation permits.
We will keep you updated.
Since we were told by police to stop distributing donations yesterday (something they had never allowed us to do but tolerated for a while), we decided to hand over some of our donations to our local Turkish colleagues. They purchased food (with 40% discount) and handed it out from their car.
Things were rather calm today, not many people were allowed to leave the camp to go to the village and those who did get a permission today were quickly told to leave the main street by police. Less and less people are staying inside the camp, many have been transported elsewhere by now.
Due to this movement as well as the increasing problems with police, we decided to relocate to Istanbul where many refugees are currently stranded in parks and bus stations after having been asked to leave/were transported back by police.
We were able to organize medicine – cough syrup was requested the most… - and bring it inside the closed area through our local contacts. Additionally, we managed to get 300 packs of disinfectant. We left half of it with our colleagues and took the other half with us.
Right when we were leaving Edirne to Istanbul, we got a distress call from a Syrian family whom we had given our number yesterday. Last night, they were forced to leave the camp and were given two choices: crossing the river to Greece or going to Istanbul. They were brought to a “camp” of the Red Crescent. They were then taken to the river together with a few other people and made to cross it. On the other side, they were caught by Greek military after only 200m. They had their money, IDs, documents, shoes and all mobile phones taken away from them except a single one they were able to hide. They were then returned to Turkey and dropped off in a field 25km from Edirne. In a tiny hut they found, they set up camp and sent us the location. We brought water, food, shoes and medicine. One of their kids, a five-year-old, has fever, another one is only two months old.
Among their group was a woman who was brought to the Red Crescent camp against her will while her three children remained at the border camp. Our local contacts organized busses to pick the whole group up and bring them back to Pazarkule, from where they were then taken back to the same Red Crescent camp they had just left.
This as well as other accounts confirm the statement police made yesterday about dissolving the camp at the border.
Two men from Congo told me they had been given no information on what to do now. They had their passports taken away from them in Greece, they don’t have a status in Turkey anymore and thus cannot return to their old life in Turkey (which was already hard to begin with). Having their documents taken away from them means they’ve got nothing left to lose now and thus see their only chance in staying at the border, holding on to the last tiny bit of hope that it will be opened eventually.
Our local contacts will continue distributing food and other supplies at the border from tomorrow on until the camp is truly emptied. We cannot give an estimation of how long that might take.
The German Embassy contacted me to tell me that I have to leave Turkey as soon as possible as the last two flights to Germany will be leaving tomorrow due to COVID-19.
It was a very hard decision and I absolutely do not want to leave, but I will comply with this order and fly back to Germany tomorrow. Lorenz will from now on support the people stranded in Istanbul together with other volunteers, as long as the Corona situation permits.
We will keep you updated.
