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| Syrian refugees still aim for Europe as leaders finalise EU-Turkey deal | Syrian refugees still aim for Europe as leaders finalise EU-Turkey deal |
| (6 months later) | |
| Youssef Frayha, a Syrian student, still wants to get to Europe. Even as EU leaders gathered in Brussels to thrash out a proposal to return asylum seekers to Turkey, Frayha was hatching his own plans to leave Turkey for Greece. | Youssef Frayha, a Syrian student, still wants to get to Europe. Even as EU leaders gathered in Brussels to thrash out a proposal to return asylum seekers to Turkey, Frayha was hatching his own plans to leave Turkey for Greece. |
| First he gave away his metro pass. Then he headed for the back streets of Aksaray, the district of Istanbul where many Syrian refugees start their journeys to Greece. There the show went on. Shopkeepers kept selling their knock-off lifejackets. Refugees kept enquiring about trips to Europe. | First he gave away his metro pass. Then he headed for the back streets of Aksaray, the district of Istanbul where many Syrian refugees start their journeys to Greece. There the show went on. Shopkeepers kept selling their knock-off lifejackets. Refugees kept enquiring about trips to Europe. |
| “Come with me if you want a better chance of not getting caught,” one bespectacled shopkeeper told Frayha, leading him down into a smoky basement cafe to meet a prominent local smuggler. “We have the safest route.” | “Come with me if you want a better chance of not getting caught,” one bespectacled shopkeeper told Frayha, leading him down into a smoky basement cafe to meet a prominent local smuggler. “We have the safest route.” |
| This week, that was a bolder claim than usual. European and Turkish leaders finally agreed on Friday a deal that the EU hopes will see all asylum seekers returned to Turkey in exchange for €6bn (£4.7bn), more European visas for Turks, and a tiny resettlement scheme that will probably see a few thousand of the 2.7 million Syrians in Turkey flown legally to Europe. | This week, that was a bolder claim than usual. European and Turkish leaders finally agreed on Friday a deal that the EU hopes will see all asylum seekers returned to Turkey in exchange for €6bn (£4.7bn), more European visas for Turks, and a tiny resettlement scheme that will probably see a few thousand of the 2.7 million Syrians in Turkey flown legally to Europe. |
| The rest will be left in poverty in Turkey where, despite new labour regulations, most Syrians still have little chance of working legally. | The rest will be left in poverty in Turkey where, despite new labour regulations, most Syrians still have little chance of working legally. |
| The move that is slated to come into force on Sunday seems likely to curb the flow as well as respect for international law. Refugees who are deported to Turkey will be sent to the back of the queue for formal resettlement, disincentivising the boat crossing. | The move that is slated to come into force on Sunday seems likely to curb the flow as well as respect for international law. Refugees who are deported to Turkey will be sent to the back of the queue for formal resettlement, disincentivising the boat crossing. |
| But if Frayha is anything to go by, the deal may see the return of the migratory dynamic of last spring rather than usher in a brave new era. Back then, young men like Frayha forged new routes through Europe, paving the way for the less nimble to follow in their wake, and forcing Balkan governments to lay on special trains to transport them towards Germany. | But if Frayha is anything to go by, the deal may see the return of the migratory dynamic of last spring rather than usher in a brave new era. Back then, young men like Frayha forged new routes through Europe, paving the way for the less nimble to follow in their wake, and forcing Balkan governments to lay on special trains to transport them towards Germany. |
| “The trains have now stopped, yes,” said Frayha, between appointments with different smugglers. “But I can still get a fake passport, and pretend to be Spanish.” | “The trains have now stopped, yes,” said Frayha, between appointments with different smugglers. “But I can still get a fake passport, and pretend to be Spanish.” |
| Even deportation back to Turkey won’t stop him, Frayha promised. “If I can’t go to Greece, then of course I’ll find another way,” he said, heavy metal music blasting from his headphones. “Probably from [the Turkish port of] Mersin to Italy. I’ve actually already talked to a smuggler about that route.” | Even deportation back to Turkey won’t stop him, Frayha promised. “If I can’t go to Greece, then of course I’ll find another way,” he said, heavy metal music blasting from his headphones. “Probably from [the Turkish port of] Mersin to Italy. I’ve actually already talked to a smuggler about that route.” |
| At Frayha’s second appointment, the smuggler was despondent about the future of his business in the Aegean, but predicted that people would try other methods. “We will still have people going,” said Abu Hassan, who worked for a charity before becoming a smuggler 18 months ago because of the better money on offer. “People will keep going even if they are shot. But for sure the numbers will go down this year.” | At Frayha’s second appointment, the smuggler was despondent about the future of his business in the Aegean, but predicted that people would try other methods. “We will still have people going,” said Abu Hassan, who worked for a charity before becoming a smuggler 18 months ago because of the better money on offer. “People will keep going even if they are shot. But for sure the numbers will go down this year.” |
| In a chilly flat on the edge of the city, a Syrian single mother explained why. Last autumn, once the countries of the Balkans made it easier for families to reach Germany, Bouchra dreamed of following in their footsteps. But the deportation deal and the closure of the Greek-Macedonian border made it far harder for vulnerable parents like Bouchra and her eight-year-old son, Hammouda, to make it to northern Europe. | In a chilly flat on the edge of the city, a Syrian single mother explained why. Last autumn, once the countries of the Balkans made it easier for families to reach Germany, Bouchra dreamed of following in their footsteps. But the deportation deal and the closure of the Greek-Macedonian border made it far harder for vulnerable parents like Bouchra and her eight-year-old son, Hammouda, to make it to northern Europe. |
| “The idea of going to Germany is still in my mind,” said Bouchra. “But now that they have closed the border, what choice do I have? To go back to Syria, or to go to the camps.” | “The idea of going to Germany is still in my mind,” said Bouchra. “But now that they have closed the border, what choice do I have? To go back to Syria, or to go to the camps.” |
| Bouchra’s story would be instructive for the EU authorities, who justify their new deal by claiming that Turkey upholds refugee rights. When Bouchra went to enrol her son in a local state school, she was initially told to pay twice her monthly salary for the privilege. It was only three months later, when she returned with a list of 500 Syrian children out of education, that local officials agreed to grant her son a place in a new school. | Bouchra’s story would be instructive for the EU authorities, who justify their new deal by claiming that Turkey upholds refugee rights. When Bouchra went to enrol her son in a local state school, she was initially told to pay twice her monthly salary for the privilege. It was only three months later, when she returned with a list of 500 Syrian children out of education, that local officials agreed to grant her son a place in a new school. |
| Despite a new Turkish labour law, which Europe says grants Syrians the right to work, Bouchra must work illegally for far below the minimum wage. The new law only gives work permits to those Syrians who have the blessing of their employers – and Bouchra’s employer is not one of them. | Despite a new Turkish labour law, which Europe says grants Syrians the right to work, Bouchra must work illegally for far below the minimum wage. The new law only gives work permits to those Syrians who have the blessing of their employers – and Bouchra’s employer is not one of them. |
| It is this kind of loophole that has forced Frayha to chance his luck this weekend in the Aegean. Since his landlord won’t give him a rent contract, he can’t apply for a certain kind of ID card, known as the kimlik. Without the kimlik, he has no chance of a work permit. As a result, Frayha has been left in a legal limbo that he says undermines the EU’s designation of Turkey as a “safe” country for refugees. | It is this kind of loophole that has forced Frayha to chance his luck this weekend in the Aegean. Since his landlord won’t give him a rent contract, he can’t apply for a certain kind of ID card, known as the kimlik. Without the kimlik, he has no chance of a work permit. As a result, Frayha has been left in a legal limbo that he says undermines the EU’s designation of Turkey as a “safe” country for refugees. |
| “Are we safe from being shelled in Turkey?” asked Frayha. “Yes. But am I safe from being homeless? The government doesn’t help, and I’m all alone.” | “Are we safe from being shelled in Turkey?” asked Frayha. “Yes. But am I safe from being homeless? The government doesn’t help, and I’m all alone.” |
| Syria is not an option for Frayha: he fled his home on the coast to avoid fighting for Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, whose troops have killed and tortured hundreds of thousands of people over the past five years. So Europe, whatever the threat of deportation might be, is still Frayha’s dream. And unlike Bouchra, Frayha has no dependents to make him think twice about it. | Syria is not an option for Frayha: he fled his home on the coast to avoid fighting for Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, whose troops have killed and tortured hundreds of thousands of people over the past five years. So Europe, whatever the threat of deportation might be, is still Frayha’s dream. And unlike Bouchra, Frayha has no dependents to make him think twice about it. |
| “I’m not going there to take money,” said Frayha, who studied French before fleeing Syria. “But I want to go somewhere where I can work legally. I’m 22 and I have the power and energy to do something about my future. So I will still try for Europe, and try to live my life.” | “I’m not going there to take money,” said Frayha, who studied French before fleeing Syria. “But I want to go somewhere where I can work legally. I’m 22 and I have the power and energy to do something about my future. So I will still try for Europe, and try to live my life.” |
| Additional reporting by Eiad Abdullatif | Additional reporting by Eiad Abdullatif |