“Maritime Transit Increasing as Tensions Rise”

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The Aegean Sea has gained notoriety especially since the beginning of the war in Syria due to repeated reports of refugee boats capsized or deliberately sunk. Another common route for those crossing over to Europe from Turkey, the Meriç River (Maritsa or Evros), has now also become subject to media attention with a capsized boat leaving at least three dead on February 13, 2018.

Talking to bianet on the subject, Refugee Rights Coordinator of International Amnesty Organization's Turkey Branch Volkan Görendağ said that transit rates are observed to rise in spring each year, and that negative statements regarding Syrian refugees could contribute to this increase:

"Government officials as well as opposition party members and mainstream media spokespeople sometimes demand that refugees be sent back, but people can't go back to their home countries unless conditions improve there, and on top of that, they are unsettled by these kinds of discussions.

"Attacks against refugees in Turkey increase periodically, and we worry that transit numbers will increase as hate speech escalates and their presence here is put into question."

How many have crossed over to Europe from Turkey?

Noting that it is often not possible for civil society to track the number of passages from Turkey to Europe, Görendağ stated: "Official numbers are announced only after transit has taken place, or else we get information and an idea about the number of people through such tragedies."

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than a million refugees reached European Union shores in 2015. More than 800,000 of these were crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece. The number of those attempting transit has surpassed 130,000, with passage continuing through the first three months of 2016 despite adverse weather conditions. This number declined significantly after Turkey and the EU struck a deal: As a result of the migration control deal signed by Turkey and the EU in March 2016, the annual number of refugees crossing over to the Greek islands fell 854,000 to 173,000.

Bodies of a woman and two children found in Meriç River

A boat headed from Edirne province to Greece over the Meriç River overturned in a military zone at 5 am on February 13. Patrol units notified the Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) after hearing a woman aboard the capsized boat shout "Save my child" in Turkish.

Bodies of three people, out of the eight aboard, were recovered, while one person was reported to have swum over to the other side. Four people are still missing. Among the deceased was 37-year-old Ayşe Abdulrezzak who had been relieved of her duties as a teacher within the scope of the "FETÖ/PDY" investigation, arrested, and later released with a ban on leaving the country.

Edirne Gendermerie forces have detained three Pakistani citizens with suspected ties to the incident. (AS/PU)

* Photos by Engin Özmen, Ali Can Zeray – Edirne / DHA