A new trend is for people to be dumped in the river on small islands, Gruber says. "Those islands are no man's land. On both sides of the river are armed border guards who try to prevent people from landing. We have 25 detailed testimonials from people who were trapped on such an island for days, often without water and food, in the cold."

Gruber assures that the tactic of abandoning refugees and migrants in the middle of the Evros islets has become "systematic". For example, in the first week of September, her organization documented four cases. "And there are no longer ten or twelve people, as before, but groups of up to 100 people at once," she adds.

Josoor has noted an uptick in the level of violence on the Greece-Turkey border. “In the past four weeks, we have had to take many more people to hospital,” she said, adding that the alleged abuse seemed to be due to Greek authorities “anticipating Afghans crossing”.

The Wall Street Journal reports on Greeces expanding "efforts to stop the flow of asylum seekers, prompting criticism from NGOs and some European officials".

In this special episode, Afghans Empowered sits with Natalie, cofounder of Josoor International Solidarity.

Podcast Interview w/Natalie Gruber, co-founder of Josoor International Solidarity Movement

Natalie Gruber, die Mitgründerin der gemeinnützigen Organisation Josoor, hielt die Ermittlungen zunächst für einen Scherz. Das Einzige, was die beschuldigten Organisationen gemeinsam hätten, sagt sie, sei, dass sie Informationen über illegale Pushbacks durch griechische Grenzschützer veröffentlicht hätten. »Man will uns ruhigstellen.«

Jede Nacht versuchen Flüchtlinge und Migranten, in der Türkei ohne Lebensunterhalt und Chance auf Asyl, mit Schlauchbooten die gefährliche Überfahrt auf die griechischen Inseln. Starke Strömung und der Schiffsverkehr in der Dunkelheit können tödlich sein.

In the meantime, for people who are rounded up inland and expelled “it’s a huge trauma,” said Gruber, from Josoor. “After usually years of difficult journey, they think they are finally safe, and then, from one day to the next, they are taken back to Turkey. And the way [the police] do it is usually… very violent.”

Interviews with five victims of pushbacks, 10 NGOs working across the Aegean Sea including Human Rights Watch, Josoor and the Aegean Boat Report, and a tranche of videos reviewed by the Guardian reveal an organised and systemic practice of denying entry to asylum seekers.

"We give them clothes, some food and money for the bus," says Gruber. 'They are too exhausted to tell their story. We only write down the testimonials in Istanbul. ' That is an important part of Josoor's work. The reports will be posted on the site of the Border Violence Monitoring Network, with which Josoor collaborates.

Gruber from Josoor finds it worrying: "Pushbacks are always illegal. If we take international law seriously, all the treaties that we as Europe have signed to give people the right to apply for asylum, this should never happen. And with these methods people are also immediately endangered at sea. "

"We see a higher level in brutality", says Natalie Gruber, founder of the NGO Josoor. "The coast guard is trying to stop all ships arriving on the Greek sea. And groups which have successfully reached the islands are also sent back to sea, after having arrived on land."

The BMVN analysis, based on Josoor's research, presents a set of visual material documenting incidents of masked men on an inflatable boat in Lesvos in July. Specifically, the BVMN analysis, using Josoor data, identifies a boat pushback incident with 32 refugees that took place on July 11, 2020.

Greece has closed the legal route to Europe. "All Syrians who arrived on the Greek islands this year have been rejected on the grounds that Turkey is a safe country," said Natalie Gruber of Josoor, an Austrian organization part of the Border Violence Monitoring Network. “They have been sent to deportation centers and are awaiting deportation under the Turkey deal. But Turkey will not take anyone back. The deportation centers in Greece are bulging."

The American organization Human Rights Watch denies the unprovoked statements of the prime minister in his interview with CNN and Christian Amanpour last week. And the Border Violence Monitoring Network with Josoor and No Name Kitchen publishes the result of a thorough analysis of visual material from a pushback operation of the Greek Coast Guard on July 11.

New videos published clearly show a boat of the Greek Coast Guard and its crew wearing masks, preventing a boat with refugees from approaching Lesvos, endangering the lives of dozens of people. The Greek Prime Minister and government lie brazenly and publicly.

Analysis of the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) based on revealing visual material of a repatriated refugee in Turkey, which was thoroughly investigated by Josoor and No Name Kitchen, exposes the government, and in a few days deportations and that the Greek authorities are not involved in illegal activities. At the same time, it is emphatically concluded that Europe supports this illegal practice.

"At this point, almost every attempt to cross the Aegean ends in a pushback. Even those who reach the islands are not safe" says Natalie Gruber . She works for Josoor, an organization that monitors the situation at the Greek external border from the Turkish side. "We know of numerous cases in which refugees disappear after their arrival and reappear later in Turkey."

"They told us 'we don't even want to hear you breathing'. It was like a secret operation. I noticed three armed men in civilian clothes, hiding between trees on the Greek side, watching us the entire time with binoculars."

NGOs like Aegean Boat Report, Josoor and Alarm Phone have also spoken with refugees and reported their experiences - and since March 23, activists have documented a number of incidents.

Τα παράνομα pushback προσφύγων από την ελληνική ακτοφυλακή αποτελούν θέμα ευρείας έρευνας και πάλι του Spiegel σε συνεργασία αυτή τη φορά με το ARD και το Lighthouse Reports. Ευθύνες όμως και στην Frontex.

Según la red Border Violence Monitoring que funciona de paraguas para las organizaciones independientes que documentan la violencia en frontera en los Balcanes y Grecia, más de 350 personas habrían sido devueltas sin ningún tipo de base legal, pero podrían ser muchas más.

"Die Pandemie hat die ohnehin schon prekäre Situation der Geflüchteten in der Türkei weiter verschärft", sagt Natalie Gruber, ihre NGO Josoor versorgt Flüchtlinge in der Grenzregion.

Daniel Donskoycombines sport with commitment to refugees. The actor supports the challenge "Push-ups instead of push-backs" of the association "Josoor", which works for refugees at the Greek-Turkish border.

Las organizaciones Border Violence Monitoring Network y Josoor International Solidarity han podido registrar buena parte de las expulsiones practicadas desde la Grecia continental.

Duizenden vluchtelingen in Turkije werden in maart door de Turkse president Erdogan aangemoedigd om naar Europa te gaan. Maar de grens bleef dicht.

How does Corona change the situation at the European borders? Eva gives us an overview about the latest development in Turkey and Greece.

Natalie Gruber, Präsidentin der Hilfsorganisation Josoor, steht mit vielen der Menschen in Kontakt. Einigen Geflüchteten hätten die Busfahrer empfohlen, sich Schlauchboote zu kaufen und nach Griechenland überzusetzen, sagt sie.

Nach einem Interview mit Natalie berichtet auch die polnische Presse

“Natalie Gruber is from Austria, since 2015 she has been involved in the refugee crisis as a volunteer on different borders throughout Europe.“

Az ausztriai Natalie Gruber, a német Lorenz Böttcher és a szintén német Eva minden nap beszámolt a tapasztalataikról.

“Die Zustände im Camp sind unmenschlich, deshalb halfen die Studenten den Menschen mit dem Nötigsten.”