Lets get the biggest number ever in support of our brothers and sisters in Greece and Turkey… Please accept the event to add your name to this support.
On 23/24 January there will be coordinated events/marches in Greece and Turkey in support of the refugees, against the border closures and racist refugee policies. Both sides have organised public meetings and marches in the Greek-Turkish border towns of Orestiada and İpsala
We in Ireland support our anti-racist, anti-fascist brothers and sisters in Turkey and Greece. Our leaders may long have forgotten Alan Kurdî, and their crocodile tears may have dried but we haven’t. The conditions of refugees are worse than ever…
While the EU and Turkey are finalising the deal to shut down the Greek-Turkish borders to refugees, the people on both sides are fighting for the rights of refugees and against the racist Fortress Europe policies. The Turkish-Greek land border and the Eastern Mediterranean (Aegean Sea) has become the key point for EU to control and stop the refugees.
LONG LIVE THE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY… FROM IRELAND TO REFUGEES IN EUROPE AND BEYOND!
UNITED AGAINST RACISM
#OpenBorders | #RefugeesWelcome | #NoToFortressEurope |#NoToRacism | #NoToWar | #SeekingRefugeIsAHumanRigh
Event Pages in Greece and Turkey
https://www.facebook.com/
https://www.facebook.com/
Thank you and Solidarity!
Note: We will be also bringing a small but much needed direct support to the hard-working refugee support group Halklarin Koprusu who are group of Dr. Nurses and other activists providing on a daily basis the much needed medical care and humaniterian support to the thousands of Refugees in Turkey… For Details please visit
https://www.gofundme.com/
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BACKGROUND
8 million people in Syria are internally displaced. Between 2011 and 2015, 4 million Syrians became externally displaced refugees.
There are also thousands of refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq due to the ongoing conditions post 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and war in Iraq in 2003.
There are now 2.3 million refugees in Turkey. In 2014/2015 more than 6 thousand people have died trying to make the crossing into Europe. Many of the deaths were children.
The European Union has shut-down many of the refugee routes and introduced a dysfunctional, inhumane quota system that will allow the re-settlement of only 66,000 refuges in EU countries. In September, EU ministers voted by a majority to relocate 120,000 refugees EU-wide, but for now the plan will only apply to 66,000 who are in Italy and Greece. The other 54,000 were to be moved from Hungary, but now this number will be held “in reserve”, until the governments decide where they should go.
The EU is conveniently ignoring the fundamental human right of seeking refuge. Turkey is not granting the refugees the rights of 1951 Geneva Convention.
The continuing airstrikes by western and regional countries, Assad regime’s bombing and ISIS attacks the number of internally and externally displaced people is expected to increase.
EU and Turkey have signed the Readmission Agreement that will enable to deport refugees back to Turkey. Furthermore the EU has signed border a control agreement with Turkey to prevent the refugees from crossing into Europe. In return the EU will give Turkey €3 Billion and speed up the Turkish membership to EU.
The Turkish-Greek land border and the Eastern Mediterranean has become the key point for EU to control and stop the refugees. Recently the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras visiting Lesbos said “It is imperative that we reach an agreement with Turkey to stop the flows by targeting the smugglers“.
Further border closures will only risk more lives and play into the hands of traffickers. Refugees stuck between war and closed borders, without a safe-legal-humanitarian route to safety end up in the hands of traffickers and embark on deadly sea crossings…
“No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land”
THE SITUATION OF REFUGEES
If you are a refugee from Syria (or other places) in Turkey you find yourself in this situation:
• Going back to Syria is not an option. Is it?
• Turkey does not apply the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention to you, therefore your legal status is not ‘refugee’ but ‘on temporary protection’, meaning no rights to residency, work, and any other internationally recognised refugee rights.
• The refugee camps in Turkey hold only 10-15% of the 2.3 million in the country and they are cramped.
• Turkey also has detention and deportation centres. You run the risk of being deported.
• Homelessness, health issues and lack of regular education for children is a serious problem.
• Individually applying to The UN is not an option. You will NOT be processed any time soon and UN, without countries accepting refugees does not have any way of re-settling you anywhere.
• The EU quota system bundled with Readmission and deportation agreements mean you will be not settled in EU.
• There is no process/means for you to apply to the embassies of EU-Countries in Turkey and Middle-East to seek asylum. So, you have no way of being a ‘legal’ migrant or refugee.
• Let’s say you wanted to come to Europe with a valid passport and travel documents, try to get a job or you have family members who are happy to look after you. NO, it is impossible for you to get a Schengen or any other EU visa. You cannot – however hard you try – get a travel visa.
