Refugees and Latest Pushbacks in Greece

Refugees and Latest Pushbacks in Greece

Thousands of refugees fleeing their homeland due to violence, terror, or political prosecution use Greece as an entry gate to Europe. Since the beginning of 2014, over 1.1 million refugees have crossed the borders of Greece.

No one puts their children in a boat unless the boat is safer than the land.” (Warshan Shire, Home)

Most of the refugees have chosen to go by sea in order to land on one of the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, but recently a growing number of refugees have begun to use Evros as a passage from Turkey to Greece. In recent years, besides refugees who are using Turkey as a transit way to Greece, Turkish citizens who were forced to flee Turkey due to a massive witch-hunt have also used the same route.

This witch-hunt was launched by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government against the sympathizers of the Gulen Movement following a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. Many of these citizens attempted to escape Turkey using illegal methods as the Turkish government cancelled their passports.