3 Miles To Hope
They find themselves in long and hard journeys after crossing oceans, mountains and long routes in search of a better life. Destination Europe.
Photo Reportage: Emin Özmen / Agence Le Journal
Bodrum TURKEY — Kos Greece
We are witnessing one of the biggest migrations of the world history. People driven to slaughter by dictatorial regimes, natural disasters, people from the lands consumed by famine and draught are looking to resort in migration. They find themselves in long and hard journeys after crossing oceans, mountains and long routes in search of a better life. Destination Europe.
Because of it’s importance in location, Turkey is one of the more important junctions of this journey. Especially the two million civilians running from the war in Syria are trying to hold on to life inside the borders of this country today. Turkey is the first stop for Afghans, Pakistanis, Indians and Burmese. There are not many options for those who arrive to Turkey. After improving security measures along the border in March 2015, Bulgaria is one of the hardest places to cross the border. The only remaining option in the country that is surrounded by seas in three directions is The Greek Islands.
Refugees are using three different points to get to The Greek Islands. From Ayvalik to Midilli Island, from Izmir to Lesbos Island, from Bodrum to Kos Islands. So far the number of refugees who managed to reach one of these three islands from Turkey is almost a thousand by day according to the reports from the first six months of 2015. There is 401% of increase from 2014 with a total number of around 101,000 in the first six months of this year.
I took my bag and headed to Bodrum in july. Never ending entertainment in its bars, bubble baths, taverns, luxurious and ostentatious image of Bodrum was already changed. There are five to ten Pakistanis under every three alongside the park from The Bodrum Castle to Marina, exhausted or fainted from waiting under the heat. Hundreds of refugees in playground of the cities schools are waiting for the their migration. It is possible to come across the refugees around every corner of the city until midnight. When the last shuttles are leaving, activity is at the highest in Bodrum Bus Station for the day. This people who are going to start rowing from one of the many shores of Bodrum, get disappeared in a moment. Endless fun goes on one side, and people start rowing to their hope on the other. The gap between them is unmistakable.
There are no one trafficking these people from Bodrum. It is claimed that two Turkish traffickers who sailed with refugees were shot by Greek Coastguard. Since that day, people in groups of ten to twenty are rowing in boats that you can find in supermarkets in the dark of the night. The distance is two and a half nautical miles.
Even after seeing the gendarme teams along the coastline from time to time, it is obvious that they can not quite stop this migration at once. We can safely say that even with all the efforts by the Turkish Coastguard, there isn’t much to accomplish for them against these multiple small boats sailing from different points around the same times.
I traveled to Kos Island from Bodrum. The situation wasn’t different from the other side of the coast. Greek Coastguard was roaming the coastline three or four times during the night. It is possible to reach Kos in 1–2 hours by rowing if the sea is calm. The police officers waiting 50 meters from the shore are the first thing the small groups come across if they get to the island early in the morning.
They are taken to an abandoned hotel named Captain Elias after their identifications are noted. There is no electricity, also besides from the fountain in the garden, there is no running water in this hotel for it’s 2–3 thousands refugee guests.
This number changes day to day while newcomers are waiting in front of the police station to get their permits to stay for thirty days, this permit states that they are to be arrested if they are not to leave Greece after this thirty day period. Ones who get their permits leave the police station with a smile on their faces.
Then they but their tickets for the ferry to Athens and the next step of their migration gets started. The goal is to hide in trucks that go to Italy from Athens, or by train, hiking or by any means necessary in order to get to Germany, France or United Kingdom, over Macedonia.
Photo Reportage: Emin Özmen / Agence Le Journal
Bodrum TURKEY — Kos Greece
