Fortress Europe Border Updates

Stranded at Izmir Bus Station

Update from the ground on Monday 13.04.2020 and Tuesday 14.04.2020

Monday 13.04.2020

After an eventful weekend (see our latest blog post), we heard from a group of approximately 250 Syrians, which included many families with young children. They had been dropped off near to the deportation prison in Izmir, from where they had been detained since Friday night. They were then left to fend for themselves, with no information provided to them whatsoever. Police allegedly continued to pass by, repeatedly encouraging them to go to sea. We were continually asked whether people should attempt to cross, as they did not initially want to, but were becoming increasingly desperate, and afraid of being imprisoned once again. We kept warning them of the dangers of crossing the sea, as well as the horrible conditions in the camps on the Greek islands and the extremely likely possibility that they would have to remain at the beach for a long period with no assistance, coupled with an extremely small possibility of being able to reach Greek mainland, or other European countries.


Dropped in the streets of Izmir



At 2.30pm, the whole group arrived at the closed bus station in Izmir. At between 3.00 and 4.00 pm, a second group with 50-60 people and a third group with approximately 40 people who both had been held at the same deportation prison, were dropped in the area close to the bus station.


Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, there were hardly any buses leaving from the area. Some of the 350 people who had arrived had received travel permissions, which allowed them to travel within the country despite the lockdown, but others were unable to obtain the same permissions. Two families were told they would be able to take a bus to Istanbul, if they were able to pay 400TL per person - 3 times the normal price. But they were subsequently unable to board the bus, as the driver told them the travel permit they had obtained was insufficient for travel. 


Local volunteers we contacted arrived at the bus station in order to provide them with food and help calm the unfolding situation. 


Some Turkish journalists arrived at the bus stop at around 5pm, wanting to report on the situation. After some hassle with the police, they were finally allowed to enter. An hour later,  several refugees who had talked to them were kicked out of the bus station by the police. 


Our local partners contacted the UNHCR and urged them to organise transportation away from the area as soon as possible. A few hours later, ASAM, UNHCR’s Turkish partner, arrived at the bus station and took over the organisation of the transport.  As most of them have been residing in Turkey for several years now now, they have been forced to return to the cities where they were previously. The only reason they have been forced to endure this horrible odyssey is due to a false promise of open borders. Some others have also recently arrived in Turkey and do not have a place to return to. Many lost everything during the last couple of weeks.

At 10.40pm, another group was released from the deportation prison in Ayvalik, and they also managed to reach the bus station in Izmir.

All were forced to spend the entire duration of the cold night at the bus station.

Waiting at the bus station

Tuesday, 14.04.2020

Tension rose in the morning, as the refugees had been waiting for the buses to arrive for a very long time - following on from all of the weeks of hardships they had already endured. Some of those from the group of around 350 people had travel permits, but others did not. It took quite some time for ASAM to obtain the permission to hand out additional permits in order to transport those who did not hold valid travel permits. 

 

ASAM finally divided the people into groups according to the cities where they wished to return. Those without travel documents received them in the ASAM office, which had been spontaneously set up at the bus stop. 

However, people were panicking and increasingly desperate given the situation, and some fights broke out, meaning the police took control again, leading to an atmosphere of increased distrust and fear. They feared it might just be another game. We tried our best to assure them that this time it was not the case, but after their previous experiences, they had lost trust and hope. 


Our local partners were no longer permitted inside the bus station, but the police distributed food and water before the refugees boarded the buses. 


By 1.30pm, almost all of the buses had left from Izmir. 


People have been repeatedly calling us, as they are increasingly afraid of the legal consequences of the deportation papers they have received before leaving the respective deportation prisons where they were previously held. The content of the papers is explosive and highly inflammatory, stating that the refugees must leave Turkey or else they will be deported to their home country. The time period however varies depending on the papers issued; some have received papers requiring them to leave within the next 15 days, otherwise the time period varies from a month, a year or even 24 months. 

We are working on gathering legal information concerning the grounds on which these papers have been issued. 


During the afternoon, a group of Afghani people were released from the Osmaniye camp and are currently being driven to Şanlıurfa Camp, the largest camp in Turkey, close to the Syrian border. 


At 7.30pm, all remaining people in the Osmaniye camp were released. 10 families were told by the police that they would be driven to “where they belong” - we are still unsure of the meaning of this. A group of 24 young Algerian men were simply directly kicked out of the camp, and we are still awaiting their exact location. 


At approximately 8pm the first buses from Izmir arrived at the bus station in Istanbul, where our local partners were waiting for them. The majority of those who arrived had either relatives or friends in the city, where they will be able to stay for a couple of days at the very least. For those who remain at the bus station with nowhere else to go, our partner team is now attempting to organise a place to stay for them, at least for tonight. 


At 10.30pm another group of different nationalities were released from the Osmaniye camp and dropped approximately 100km away. They all have travel permits. We informed the UNHCR and they are currently working on a solution to provide them with transport. 


Monday 13.04.2020

After an eventful weekend (see our latest blog post), we heard from a group of approximately 250 Syrians, which included many families with young children. They had been dropped off near to the deportation prison in Izmir, from where they had been detained since Friday night. They were then left to fend for themselves, with no information provided to them whatsoever. Police allegedly continued to pass by, repeatedly encouraging them to go to sea. We were continually asked whether people should attempt to cross, as they did not initially want to, but were becoming increasingly desperate, and afraid of being imprisoned once again. We kept warning them of the dangers of crossing the sea, as well as the horrible conditions in the camps on the Greek islands and the extremely likely possibility that they would have to remain at the beach for a long period with no assistance, coupled with an extremely small possibility of being able to reach Greek mainland, or other European countries.


Dropped in the streets of Izmir



At 2.30pm, the whole group arrived at the closed bus station in Izmir. At between 3.00 and 4.00 pm, a second group with 50-60 people and a third group with approximately 40 people who both had been held at the same deportation prison, were dropped in the area close to the bus station.


Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, there were hardly any buses leaving from the area. Some of the 350 people who had arrived had received travel permissions, which allowed them to travel within the country despite the lockdown, but others were unable to obtain the same permissions. Two families were told they would be able to take a bus to Istanbul, if they were able to pay 400TL per person - 3 times the normal price. But they were subsequently unable to board the bus, as the driver told them the travel permit they had obtained was insufficient for travel. 


Local volunteers we contacted arrived at the bus station in order to provide them with food and help calm the unfolding situation. 


Some Turkish journalists arrived at the bus stop at around 5pm, wanting to report on the situation. After some hassle with the police, they were finally allowed to enter. An hour later,  several refugees who had talked to them were kicked out of the bus station by the police. 


Our local partners contacted the UNHCR and urged them to organise transportation away from the area as soon as possible. A few hours later, ASAM, UNHCR’s Turkish partner, arrived at the bus station and took over the organisation of the transport.  As most of them have been residing in Turkey for several years now now, they have been forced to return to the cities where they were previously. The only reason they have been forced to endure this horrible odyssey is due to a false promise of open borders. Some others have also recently arrived in Turkey and do not have a place to return to. Many lost everything during the last couple of weeks.

At 10.40pm, another group was released from the deportation prison in Ayvalik, and they also managed to reach the bus station in Izmir.

All were forced to spend the entire duration of the cold night at the bus station.

Waiting at the bus station

Tuesday, 14.04.2020

Tension rose in the morning, as the refugees had been waiting for the buses to arrive for a very long time - following on from all of the weeks of hardships they had already endured. Some of those from the group of around 350 people had travel permits, but others did not. It took quite some time for ASAM to obtain the permission to hand out additional permits in order to transport those who did not hold valid travel permits. 

 

ASAM finally divided the people into groups according to the cities where they wished to return. Those without travel documents received them in the ASAM office, which had been spontaneously set up at the bus stop. 

However, people were panicking and increasingly desperate given the situation, and some fights broke out, meaning the police took control again, leading to an atmosphere of increased distrust and fear. They feared it might just be another game. We tried our best to assure them that this time it was not the case, but after their previous experiences, they had lost trust and hope. 


Our local partners were no longer permitted inside the bus station, but the police distributed food and water before the refugees boarded the buses. 


By 1.30pm, almost all of the buses had left from Izmir. 


People have been repeatedly calling us, as they are increasingly afraid of the legal consequences of the deportation papers they have received before leaving the respective deportation prisons where they were previously held. The content of the papers is explosive and highly inflammatory, stating that the refugees must leave Turkey or else they will be deported to their home country. The time period however varies depending on the papers issued; some have received papers requiring them to leave within the next 15 days, otherwise the time period varies from a month, a year or even 24 months. 

We are working on gathering legal information concerning the grounds on which these papers have been issued. 


During the afternoon, a group of Afghani people were released from the Osmaniye camp and are currently being driven to Şanlıurfa Camp, the largest camp in Turkey, close to the Syrian border. 


At 7.30pm, all remaining people in the Osmaniye camp were released. 10 families were told by the police that they would be driven to “where they belong” - we are still unsure of the meaning of this. A group of 24 young Algerian men were simply directly kicked out of the camp, and we are still awaiting their exact location. 


At approximately 8pm the first buses from Izmir arrived at the bus station in Istanbul, where our local partners were waiting for them. The majority of those who arrived had either relatives or friends in the city, where they will be able to stay for a couple of days at the very least. For those who remain at the bus station with nowhere else to go, our partner team is now attempting to organise a place to stay for them, at least for tonight. 


At 10.30pm another group of different nationalities were released from the Osmaniye camp and dropped approximately 100km away. They all have travel permits. We informed the UNHCR and they are currently working on a solution to provide them with transport. 


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