Once the refugees were evacuated from the camp, the tents and belongings were set on fire by the Turkish authorities. In one video taken by a refuges the voice says, “The Turkish soldiers are burning down our camp, they are forcing us out of Pazarkule camp.”
Turkey decided to blackmail Europe into paying for the war refugees when it started invading Syria illegally. Somebody had to pay for the costly Syrian invasion. Somebody had to pay for the refugees fleeing from the Western bombing of cities, towns, villages and even wedding ceremonies. However, while stealing the oil and resources of mostly Syria, Iraq, and other war torn places, the West was slow in paying Turkey, who also is a part of the invasions, the war and the bombings, to keep the war refugees at bay. Nobody wants the refugees in their homes. Nobody wants to pay for their internments either.
To pressure the European countries for speeding up the payments, Turkey put tens of thousands of war refugees on buses, trucks, vans and pushed them on Greece, the gateway to Europe.
Erdoğan was keeping his promise to set the migrants on Europe if he didn’t receive his collection and receive it fast.
Turkish police and the army units assisted the refugees for the first time, a welcome change from their prior beating and harassments, as they were taken to the Greece border. After transportation, the police and Turkish government officials were even seen cutting the barbed wires at the Greece border to allow easy passage.
The Turkish interior minister Soylu went on TV announcing proudly exactly how many refugees were transported to the border. Of course, the numbers he cited had nothing to do with the reality on the ground.
Greece pushed back by deploying their police and their army as the refugees became a ball being tossed between the Turkish and the Greece authorities. Turkey pushed them out, Greece pushed them back in again. Families, young, old, children, living under horrific conditions in make-shift camps saw nothing but violence and harassment from both sides.
Then the coronavirus hit.
With its hands full fighting the pandemic, and Greece not letting up, Turkey decided to find a fast and seemingly easier solution to the migrant crisis. Just transport them back into the country and disperse them in different regions.
The camps right at the border were suddenly emptied yesterday with the migrants forced out around 4:00AM in the morning to buses.
The interior minister Soylu who had so proudly announced how the migrants were being pushed to the border only about a month ago made a turnabout and announced that the migrants now were being transported to 9 provinces in Turkey. He claimed there were 5,800 refugees who were being forced into the “repatriation centers” around the country. The refugees will be kept in the make-shift camps in these regions for 14 days under quarantine.
Sendika.org reporters were able to reach some refugees who were being transported under the cover of the night. One refugee said, “They told us they were taking us to Malatya. Others have been taken to Osmaniye. I wanted to go to Osmaniye because I am registered in Adana which is close to Osmaniye. They did not let me. We are on the bus travelling for hours. We are hungry and thirsty. There are women, families and children. They have two soldiers in the bus as our guards. When people reacted to the conditions, they were taken down from the bus and taken away.”
Another refugee from Iran said they had been forced into the buses but they were never even told what was happening or where they were being taken to. He said, “Our belongings were left at Pazarkule camp at the border. I don’t know what they will do with us. I am scared of being deported back. We are waiting in line, soon our phones will be confiscated.”
Once the refugees were evacuated from the camp, the tents and belongings were set on fire by the Turkish authorities. In one video taken by a refuges the voice says, “The Turkish soldiers are burning down our camp, they are forcing us out of Pazarkule camp.”
Greece government also accused the Turkish authorities of burning the refugee camp.
As always, Soylu claimed the move was made for health and safety of the population and of the refugees. He said, “We did this as a preventative measure. Nobody should feel comfortable. When the risk of spreading the disease passes, we will not prevent anyone from coming back to the border camp in Pazarkule. This is a humanitarian prevention measure.”
The passengers from Algeria who had been detained at the Istanbul airport because their flights had been cancelled by the Turkish Airlines were also forcefully sent to a camp in Karabük, Turkey.
Sendika.org News (M.B.)