‘They Take Our Money, Beat and Send us Back to Turkey’

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Having set up camps near Pazarkule Border Gate in Edirne near Turkey-Syria border, refugees struggle against the cold and hunger there.

They have their camps near Tundzha River, which is very close to Evros River. They either wait for it to get darker or a good news from the media. 

We speak with 19-year-old İbrahim Gaze from Syria. He tells us that he came to Edirne on Friday after it was said that "borders would be opened":

"I was working in textile sector in Zeytinburnu district in İstanbul. My elder brother and I came to Turkey in 2013. I used to go to school in Syria, but I had to quit after I came here. I have been working at a textile mill since I came here. My wage was around 300-400 lira till last year. This year, they have increased it to 2,000 lira. They do not get us insured.

"They make us work saying 'You are Syrians.' I have been working from 8 in the morning to 8 in the evening for seven years. I want to go. I love Turkey very much, but I want to go for a better future.

"While we were trying to cross the border, the soldiers of Greece caught us. They beat us, took our clothes and sent us back. I returned to İstanbul and got clothes on Monday. I came here again yesterday. I want to go to Europe. We do not want to stay in Greece anyway. They should let us go."

Fires lighted in the afternoon

A considerable number of people have set up camps along the Tundzha River. While suspense prevails in the camp, women try to care for children and meet their needs and men collect tree branches to light a fire. There are also people on the trees, trying to cut branches with axes.

'They took my pass and phone, sent me back'

Roaming around the camp, we come across Elham Mecid. Elham tells us that she came to Turkey with his husband and children.

"Turkey was nice. We had friends here. In fact, when we were about to set off for here, they cried, saying 'Don't go.' They did not want us to come here. They loved us a lot and we also loved them a lot. But we cannot make a living here. You work and they do not give you your wage. We have difficulty making ends meet. That is why we want to go.

"We tried to cross [the border], but the soldiers of Greece stopped us. They took my passport and phone and sent me back here. We have nothing now. We are waiting. We will try to cross again."

Pazarkule forbidden to journalists

We leave the camp to reach Pazarkule Border Gate, which is some six kilometers away from Tundzha. While we are underway on the highway, the police stop us two kilometers before the camp and tell us that it is forbidden to go any further. When we return and head for the side streets, we see that hundreds of refugees are walking in the woods towards the wire fences.

They swim back to Turkey

Three people from Somalia are wrapped in blankets, trying to get warm and dry. They jumped in the river; however, they were caught on the other side and sent back from the same path.

They start to walk in the filed as it gets dark

There is a movement both on the border and from the border to the center. The ones coming back from the border say that they are hungry and they will move on after getting food. The ones sitting under trees eat and meet their needs. Those who have eaten their fill set off towards the wire fences.

A journalist that we come across while we go towards the border tells that he has just been released from detention as Gendarmerie detained him for 40 minutes. Saying that the gendarmerie or plain-clothes police do not allow journalists to enter the area, he indicates that only refugees have "a pass."

The front of wire fences get crowded as it gets darker. (HA/AS/SD)