Thread by @jenanmoussa

1/ This thread explains how migrants/refugees move inside Turkey to Greek border.

How do people travel? What's role of Turkish police &mayors? Is it spontaneous or organized by authorities?

Last 48 hrs I spoke to Syrians &others who are on the move.

This is what I've learned:

2/ Migrants/refugees in Turkey who want to go to Greece can be divided into 2 groups:

a/ 25.000+ people who already traveled to border.

b/ 100.000's of people who are all over Turkey with packed bags, ready to move to border when it opens.

Let me tell u more about 1st group.

3/ The group of 25.000+ migrants/refugees who are already on Turkish side of border with Greece face a number of issues.

First they have to reach the border. I spoke to people who took the trip by bus from Istanbul.

They told me this: 👇

4/ Buses for the Greek border leave Istanbul in the direction of Edirne, which is a Turkish city around 230 km northwest of Istanbul.

Some bus rides are for free, other buses charge 150 TL ($25) per person.

From Edirne it is only 6 kms to the border with Greece.

@akhbar

5/ Not all buses leaving Istanbul go to Edirne. I spoke to a migrant who was on a bus from Istanbul to Uzunköprü (see map).

There, a white Honda stopped the bus. Bus driver got out & spoke to the driver of Honda, who my source says was a policeman.

google.com/maps/place/Uzu…

6/ As bus driver returned to his seat, white Honda drove in front of bus.

Behind the bus a small armored vehicle appeared. Bus followed the Honda.

To the 75+ migrants in bus it was clear that the police in the Honda was leading the bus to a specific border area near to Greece.

7/ As the migrants in bus realize the Turkish police was leading their bus to a very rural border area with Greece in the middle of nowhere and not to the main border crossing close to Edirne, some of the migrants go angry.

25 Moroccan migrants began yelling at the bus driver.

8/ To calm the Moroccans down, Turkish bus driver stopped at a police station in a town near the Greek border.

Here all migrants left the bus. Bus driver +policemen told migrants to start walking into the direction of border village Kiremitçisalih:

google.com/maps/place/41%…

9/ My source also got out of the bus. Police told migrants to find a smuggler and cross to Greece.

Tractors with wagons arrived. Normally these are used to transport sheep. Owner of tractors told migrants that for 50 TL ($9) per person he would bring them right to the border.

10/ In the meantime it was already dark. Acc to my source, the atmosphere on border -in the middle of nowhere- was very bad. 1st of all it's very scary to cross border as armed Greek guards are patrolling and sometimes shoot at migrants as they illegally try to pass the border.

11/ Source said that he and other migrants felt that the Turkish police was pressuring them into crossing to Greece. "They don't care if we get killed," he said.

Acc to him, police said: "You came here to cross the border so cross the border now." Migrants were very scared.

12/ My source asked Turks at border why police didn't allow him and other migrants to go to the main border crossing near to Edirne?

Local people said that police decides where every bus goes to, migrants get "distributed" along whole Turkey-Greek border to pressure Greece.

13/ In addition to dangers connected to crossing Turkey-Greece border, my source also spoke of another threat to migrants on border: Criminal elements among local population or among migrants themselves threatening other migrants. "It's a hell", he said, "a jungle, without laws."

14/ Criminal elements know that all migrants on border carry everything they possess: Passports, IDs, cash etc.

So local people or criminal migrants - especially under cover of darkness and in isolated areas - try to rob migrants. Women + children are especially vulnerable.

15/ My source told me he was scared in border area & decided not to cross to Greece.

As he stayed on Turkish side, he noticed how migrants who earlier tried to sneak into Greece walked back to Turkey wearing only boxer shorts. Greek police took their clothes, luggage+papers.

16/ I'm also in touch with Syrians who are in Turkey but not near border.

Due to terrible situation on border (as explained in this thread), many refugees/migrants decide to stay in the location where they currently live in Turkey until they get news that the border is open.

17/ Syrians I am in touch with live near Hatay in S-Turkey. They already have packed their bags &are waiting until Turkey-Greek border opens.

However, (Turkish) mayors in villages near Hatay have asked Syrians to register so municipalities can organize transport to Greek border.

18/ Syrians in Hatay area are now discussing if they should register for free transport to the Greek border or not.

A hurdle for Syrians in Turkey is that by law they have to ask for permission from the municipality where they live when they want to travel outside the province.

19/ Acc to Syrians I spoke to, Turkish authorities have been instructed to allow Syrians a free passage only when they travel in direction of Edirne border.

But Syrians worry that in case they don't get into Greece, Turkey wont allow them to travel back from Edirne to Hatay.

20/ So many worries for Syrians and others in Turkey.

Should they stay or go? Can they get into Greece or not? Will they get robbed? Shot at? Can they move back to Hatay?

All in all very sad that people who hardly have anything left are used as pawns in a geopolitical game.

21/ This is all for now. Thank you for your attention.