President Erdogan has threatened to ditch the EU refugee deal. After election losses and faced with escalating conflict in Idlib, the attitude toward the growing number of Syrian refugees has become increasingly harsh.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Kilic
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When President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced in early September that Turkey could be forced to "open the gates" if Europe failed to offer more support in sheltering refugees and creating "safe zones" in North Syria, it wasn't technically a threat.
Erdogan's strong rhetoric was referring to the refugee deal that Turkey and the EU agreed to in March 2016. In it, the EU promised to compensate Turkey with €6 billion ($6.6 billion) over several years if Ankara would take care of Syrian refugees. According to the European Commission, some €2.4 billion has already been paid out and another €3.5 billion has been contractually committed.
In contrast to the harsh tone emanating from Ankara, officials in Brussels appear unperturbed. "We trust that we can continue this work in good faith with our Turkish partners," said a spokesperson on September 5.
'Voluntary returns' to Syria?
Kristian Brakel, who heads the Heinrich Böll Foundation office in Istanbul, also believes Erdogan won't ditch the agreement. Brakel said the president has "few better options," and said the problem lies elsewhere.
Over the past several months the number of refugee deportations from Turkey has gone up dramatically, with many Syrians who fled the civil war in their homeland being sent to hotly contested areas such as Idlib.
Ankara has made no effort to hide the fact that it has deported some 320,000 Syrian refugees. Yet officials in Turkey say those refugees have "voluntarily returned," a claim that hasn't convinced Brakel.
He told DW there have been numerous credible claims from people who went to Turkish police stations to extend their residency permits, only to be "ordered to sign documents for a 'voluntary return.'" They were made to understand — under the threat of physical violence — that refusal to sign the documents was not an option. "You can't call that a voluntary return," said Brakel.
Willingness to help
At first glance, such harsh measures are surprising: Erdogan and members of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have consistently spoken of their willingness to help.
"We have been trying to help those suffering in Syria for years. That is our tradition, our culture," Fatma Sahin, an AKP member who has served as mayor of the city of Gaziantep near the Syrian border for five years, told DW in 2017. "If your neighbor is hungry, then you must try to help him. I am of the opinion that our stance has become a global example. We have become the conscience of the world."
Indeed, Turkey has played a special role, especially with regard to Syrian refugees. More than 6.3 million people have been forced to flee Syria since the civil war broke out in 2011; Turkey has taken in more than half of them.
Kobani awaits Turkey's next move in northern Syria
Kobani on the Turkish border in northern Syria was the core of the Kurdish revolution in Rojava. DW looks at life inside Kobani, as Turkey continues moving heavy weapons to the Syrian border.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
PKK graffiti in Kobani
Turkey sees no difference between the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria and the PKK organization in Turkey. The PKK is also considered a terrorist organization by the US and the EU, however, the western allies have supported SDF in their fight against the "Islamic State" (IS) group.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
Taking a stand
Adla Bakir, head of the Kongra Star organization, an umbrella for women’s groups in Rojava, recalls how she gave an oath to serve the people in the opening stages of the Kurdish revolution in 2011. The revolution’s emphasis on gender rights has empowered women to become fighters, politicians and activists.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
Protecting their neighborhood
Elderly women from the Society Protection Units set up nightly roadblocks in Kobani. The force is led by male and female volunteers, and is independent of the official police and armed forces. The volunteers are drawn from across all communes in the city, with the aim to swiftly mobilize forces in the event of an attack, and to prevent a repeat of the 2015 civilian massacre by IS.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
A welcome diversion
A Kurdish fighter serving with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Kobani enjoys some time with his son. He, like many other soldiers, is deployed in close proximity to his home and family. The Turkish border is a few hundred meters away.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
A grim reminder
The funeral of a Kurdish SDF fighter in Kobani. He was killed while fighting against IS forces in Deir Ezzor province in November. Despite US President Donald Trump's claim that IS has been defeated, the battle along the Euphrates river is far from over.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
Remembering the dead
Martyrs' Center in Kobani. Following years of clandestine work, the center was able to open publicly following the revolution in 2011. It functions as a social hub, supporting the families of those killed by Turkish, Syrian or IS forces.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
A brief respite
Soldiers from the SDF at a military base in Deir Ezzor province. Posters of the Kurdish ideological leader, Abdullah Öcalan and other prominent figures, adorn the walls. Following threats of an invasion by Turkey, some forces were redeployed from the fight against IS to the 500-kilometer (310 miles) long Turkish border.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
A glimmer of hope?
Men at a Kebab shop in Kobani cautiously welcome the news that US forces will stay in Syria for the time being. The comments by US National Security Adviser John Bolton appeared to put the brakes on a withdrawal abruptly announced by Donald Trump last month and initially expected to be completed within weeks.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
Protests gather pace
Demonstrators in Kobani, made up mostly of schoolchildren, protest against the Turkish shelling of Kurdish villages in November.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
Taking a break
Youths in Kobani make their way back from the funeral of a Kurdish fighter. Kurdish residents fear that another military onslaught is imminent.
Image: DW/B. Gerdziunas
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'Attempt to regain control'
Nevertheless, the initial warm welcome for the refugees has begun to subside in many places. For instance, the established practice of allowing Syrians not registered in Istanbul to remain there regardless is no longer accepted. Now such refugees have been ordered to leave the city.
Brakel has traced the change in Erdogan's tone back to this summer's AKP election losses in the city. "The AKP lost a lot of ground in many areas with high concentrations of refugees. Even though some of those neighborhoods were AKP strongholds, voters clearly punished the party," he said.
The tense economic situation has only exacerbated the problem, he said, adding that hostility toward refugees, either through violence or overt racism, has significantly increased. "The change in rhetoric is clearly an attempt to regain control of the situation."
In neighboring Syria over the past few weeks, fighting around Idlib — the last rebel stronghold and an area that borders Turkey — has escalated. Some 3 million refugees live in the region. Should the situation continue to deteriorate, those people might attempt to flee to Turkey.
Reacting to the development, Ankara has announced a Syria summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, due to take place on Monday.
'Inhumane conditions' at Bosnian refugee camp in Vucjak
Within eyeshot of the Bosnian-Croatian border, thousands of refugees are camping in squalor on a former garbage site. Their supplies are scarce. Photographer Dirk Planert was among them.
Image: DW/D. Planert
Forced removals
It's estimated that 8,000 refugees live in Bihac. The camps are overcrowded and every day there is talk of burglaries. There was a stabbing in front of the kindergarten. Next to Camp Bira, there were about 500 people not registered with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). In mid-June police picked them up and drove them to a site called Vucjak.
Image: DW/D. Planert
800 people living on garbage
Within a few days, police continued to bring more refugees to Vucjak — a site that was the city's garbage dump for decades. It was covered with soil and then flattened. Local residents say it is omitting methane gas. Apart from the putrid stench, there are only three tents and some drinking water tanks. No toilets, no showers, no electricity, no paramedics.
Image: DW/D. Planert
Red Cross hopes for relief workers
Local Red Cross workers from Bihac say that neither the government in Sarajevo nor the IOM are giving them any funds to look after the refugees or buy medical supplies. The IOM staff stopped by briefly but did nothing. They then made a plea to the people of Bihac to donate food.
Image: DW/D. Planert
Eating in filth
Those at the camp receive paltry soup and bread twice a day from the Red Cross.
There is no electricity, no toilets, no showers, and no way to wash clothing. Almost everyone has skin rashes, open or purulent wounds, and their legs and feet are bloodied. There are no doctors. Red Cross medics say they have inadequate supplies to provide relief.
Image: DW/D. Planert
Medical emergency
Abdul Rahim Bilal screamed in pain as he was unloaded from a police van. Shortly afterward he became unresponsive and lay in the dirt with his hands on his appendix. The bus drove off. After desperate calls for help, another policeman called an ambulance which took half an hour to arrive. According to the hospital, he was released three days later.
Image: DW/D. Planert
Stories of war
Most in the camp are young men from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria; some are also from India, Egypt and Gaza. The refugees in Vucjak have been making their way to Europe for at least 10 weeks, some even up to three years. They speak of the war in Syria, terrorist attacks and police violence in Pakistan and air raids in Gaza.
Image: DW/D. Planert
No strength left
Jouma Al Hamid was in an Assad prison in Syria. He comes from the Idlib area. He's been on the road for three years and spent one year in Camp Moria on Lesbos. "I can't take it anymore," says the 26-year-old. "I just want to live in a house, that's all. I'm frightened, by the police, by criminal gang lords here." People smugglers charge €3,000 ($3,400) but he does not have it.
Image: DW/D. Planert
Without rights
Hassan Ali was forcibly removed from Camp Bira to Vucjak by police despite being registered as a migrant at IOM and having a place in the camp. They gave him no explanation: "The police arrested me in town. When I showed my IOM card and said I was in Bira, they said if I say that again they will beat me. Then they brought me here. I don't know why."
Image: DW/D. Planert
Being a child at the garbage dump
The youngest refugee at former-garbage dump campsite is 12 years old. He actually should be at Camp Bira, or in one of the hotels where women and children are accommodated but the police picked him up and brought him to Vucjak. His only possessions are the clothes he is wearing.
Image: DW/D. Planert
'This is not camp'
The people here are crying out to be heard. With a paper and a marker, a woman from a French human rights organization helped them write a legible sign, in a desperate attempt to get help.
Image: DW/D. Planert
The EU knows everything
The European Union can't deny that they know what the situation is like here. Two EUFOR soldiers were in Vucjak and witnessed everything. They will have reported to their headquarters. This situation is strongly reminiscent of the war in Bosnia. Bihac was a "UN protection zone," but only on paper. UN observers were here and they didn't do anything. Just like EUFOR.
