Fortress Europe Border Updates

"We want you to die"

Recent pushbacks at the greek-turkish border

On Tuesday the 26.05, 11 boys were pushed back from Greece and our local partners in Edirne supplied them with food and water. Straight after, we received the emergency call from a family in Istanbul, with a newborn baby and a vulnerable toddler. As one of the many families without income in Turkey, they were in desperate need of medicine and food. We provided them with everything needed. They are from Somalia, living in Turkey without papers and thus without any other support. 


Since Saturday, 30.05, rumours spread that more and more people plan to return to the border, as the living conditions for refugees in Turkey are constantly worsening and people are desperate. However, Greece has fortified the border so much that it has become almost impossible to cross through the Evros which is why the movement currently seems to be heading more to the coast.


On Sunday, 31.05, our local partners found four groups who had recently been pushed back, 13 people from Afghanistan, 5 people from Morocco, 10 people from Pakistan and 30 people from other countries. Greek police officers had put them into eight vans, each of them transporting 10 to 11 people, and pushed them back to Turkey. 


On Monday, 01.05, our partners delivered food, face masks, water and disinfectant for 27 pushback cases in Edirne. During the night they found 60 people, among them a pregnant woman, a father with his little son and two other families who were pushed back just moments earlier. The Greek police had arrested some of them near the border while others were taken from a camp in Thessaloniki. Police had picked them up under the false promise that they would get legal documents, but then had gathered them in a big refrigerated truck and drove them to the Evros border.  All of the 60 people were kept for two days in a very dirty, abandoned building with dirt, bugs and mosquitoes all around. They had been pushed back by boat and arrived in the Turkish city Meriç. One of them had to be carried by others. He had tried to take a video of the pushback where the officers had replied by beating him up so heavily that they fractured his leg and caused various other injuries. Others had also been badly beaten and some of them had been tasered. Our partners provided food packages and organized a van to transport them to Istanbul. 


On Tuesday, 2.06, our partners found a Syrian family from Idlib with three small children after their pushback from Greece and provided them with basic supplies. 


On Thursday night, 04.06, our partners found another family from Iraq with three small children, all of them dirty and exhausted. We managed to organise a hotel room for them. They were pushed back from Greece: after crossing two days before they got caught in Orestiada and pushed back, even though they asked to apply for asylum several times in clear English. 


Not only at the land border where we mainly work but also on sea, pushbacks are increasing. For example Thursday 4.6. and Friday 5.6, two horrible pushbacks occurred at sea. Two boats tried to cross to reach the Aegean islands but the HCG (Greek Coastguard) destroyed their engine, injured several people who were beaten with sticks, cut a hole into one of their dinghies and caused waves in order to force them to return. One boat was taken to Lesvos by a German vessel, the other was eventually taken back to Turkey by the TCG (Turkish Coastguard). We are in contact with the victims, took their testimonies and are working on publication of the horrible experiences they had to endure. One of them asked us the touching and true question: “Why do they hate us so much? Why do they want us to die?” Another one quoted an officer of the HCG who told him: “We don't care if you die. We want you to die.”


On Sunday, 07.06., another 24 people from Afghanistan, as well as 8 people from Morocco, were pushed back. The Morrocans had been imprisoned for around 25 days in Drama. All of them arrived in Turkey without shoes, one without trousers and two without shirts. We supplied them with food, water, masks and mosquito repellent as well as clothes when needed. 

On the streets after a violent pushback

food distribution organized by our partners


The number of pushbacks, and the constant use of violence and different abuses as well as the individual stories behind every number alarm us a great deal. As of now, even the IOM and UNHCR have raised concerns and urged Greece to investigate these pushbacks. Based on their previous and recent actions however, we believe that the Greek government will do no such thing; as it is clear that these are not individual bad apples among the police force but the general policy - even though it is clearly illegal. In general, the situation in Greece is going from bad to worse, both for refugees themselves as well as for aid workers. Recent policy restrictions such as the secret budget for the migration ministry passed in May.


The inaction of the EU in the face of all these changes is more shocking than ever, and the human rights violations is simply devastating. The unwillingness of EU member countries to step up and find a fair solution is directly linked to the alarming developments threatening the values and the treaties the European Union was founded on.

And now it falls mainly to us; small civil society organisations, to take care of the tens of thousands of victims in this hugely uncertain political situation. 



On Tuesday the 26.05, 11 boys were pushed back from Greece and our local partners in Edirne supplied them with food and water. Straight after, we received the emergency call from a family in Istanbul, with a newborn baby and a vulnerable toddler. As one of the many families without income in Turkey, they were in desperate need of medicine and food. We provided them with everything needed. They are from Somalia, living in Turkey without papers and thus without any other support. 


Since Saturday, 30.05, rumours spread that more and more people plan to return to the border, as the living conditions for refugees in Turkey are constantly worsening and people are desperate. However, Greece has fortified the border so much that it has become almost impossible to cross through the Evros which is why the movement currently seems to be heading more to the coast.


On Sunday, 31.05, our local partners found four groups who had recently been pushed back, 13 people from Afghanistan, 5 people from Morocco, 10 people from Pakistan and 30 people from other countries. Greek police officers had put them into eight vans, each of them transporting 10 to 11 people, and pushed them back to Turkey. 


On Monday, 01.05, our partners delivered food, face masks, water and disinfectant for 27 pushback cases in Edirne. During the night they found 60 people, among them a pregnant woman, a father with his little son and two other families who were pushed back just moments earlier. The Greek police had arrested some of them near the border while others were taken from a camp in Thessaloniki. Police had picked them up under the false promise that they would get legal documents, but then had gathered them in a big refrigerated truck and drove them to the Evros border.  All of the 60 people were kept for two days in a very dirty, abandoned building with dirt, bugs and mosquitoes all around. They had been pushed back by boat and arrived in the Turkish city Meriç. One of them had to be carried by others. He had tried to take a video of the pushback where the officers had replied by beating him up so heavily that they fractured his leg and caused various other injuries. Others had also been badly beaten and some of them had been tasered. Our partners provided food packages and organized a van to transport them to Istanbul. 


On Tuesday, 2.06, our partners found a Syrian family from Idlib with three small children after their pushback from Greece and provided them with basic supplies. 


On Thursday night, 04.06, our partners found another family from Iraq with three small children, all of them dirty and exhausted. We managed to organise a hotel room for them. They were pushed back from Greece: after crossing two days before they got caught in Orestiada and pushed back, even though they asked to apply for asylum several times in clear English. 


Not only at the land border where we mainly work but also on sea, pushbacks are increasing. For example Thursday 4.6. and Friday 5.6, two horrible pushbacks occurred at sea. Two boats tried to cross to reach the Aegean islands but the HCG (Greek Coastguard) destroyed their engine, injured several people who were beaten with sticks, cut a hole into one of their dinghies and caused waves in order to force them to return. One boat was taken to Lesvos by a German vessel, the other was eventually taken back to Turkey by the TCG (Turkish Coastguard). We are in contact with the victims, took their testimonies and are working on publication of the horrible experiences they had to endure. One of them asked us the touching and true question: “Why do they hate us so much? Why do they want us to die?” Another one quoted an officer of the HCG who told him: “We don't care if you die. We want you to die.”


On Sunday, 07.06., another 24 people from Afghanistan, as well as 8 people from Morocco, were pushed back. The Morrocans had been imprisoned for around 25 days in Drama. All of them arrived in Turkey without shoes, one without trousers and two without shirts. We supplied them with food, water, masks and mosquito repellent as well as clothes when needed. 

On the streets after a violent pushback

food distribution organized by our partners


The number of pushbacks, and the constant use of violence and different abuses as well as the individual stories behind every number alarm us a great deal. As of now, even the IOM and UNHCR have raised concerns and urged Greece to investigate these pushbacks. Based on their previous and recent actions however, we believe that the Greek government will do no such thing; as it is clear that these are not individual bad apples among the police force but the general policy - even though it is clearly illegal. In general, the situation in Greece is going from bad to worse, both for refugees themselves as well as for aid workers. Recent policy restrictions such as the secret budget for the migration ministry passed in May.


The inaction of the EU in the face of all these changes is more shocking than ever, and the human rights violations is simply devastating. The unwillingness of EU member countries to step up and find a fair solution is directly linked to the alarming developments threatening the values and the treaties the European Union was founded on.

And now it falls mainly to us; small civil society organisations, to take care of the tens of thousands of victims in this hugely uncertain political situation. 



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