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| Europe |
| Refugees see last chance for Europe before winter closes route from Turkey |
| 2015-09-18 |
| [EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Hundreds of Syrians and other migrants thronged a small park in central Istanbul on Wednesday, hoping for a last chance to reach Europe before poor weather makes their favored route from ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... to Greece too dangerous to undertake. "It is time to go, while the door to Europe is open," said Zopir, 20, who fled the Syrian town of Deir al-Zor three years ago and now wants to reach Europe before his wife, eight months pregnant, gives birth. "I am afraid, but I am ready." Zopir scraped together 8,000 euros ($9,000) for their trip, which begins in and near the park in Aksaray, a working-class district of Istanbul, by hiring a "dealer": a front man for smugglers who help refugees reach the Aegean coast. Zopir and his wife are part of this year's record wave of more than 300,000 people fleeing war, persecution and poverty for Europe and using Greece as a springboard. That marks a fivefold rise since 2014 and their numbers continue to grow, the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) says. Now, that crossing is becoming treacherous and will soon be altogether impassable as autumn descends and winds pick up and churn the Aegean Sea, placid during the summer months. "This is the last week. After this, the waves become too big," said Joseph, a 37-year-old Paleostinian who has worked as a dealer for four years. He declined to give his surname. Less scrupulous dealers may organize trips after the weather turns, he said. Migrants from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa find Joseph, who runs a team of seven men, through word of mouth. Others are listed on Facebook pages run by refugees. Joseph finds them a consignee, who, for a small fee, holds their money and pays smugglers once they get a call with a password from Europe. They are then passed to the next middleman, who bundles them into vans leaving for the coast. It is a lucrative trade. Joseph says he works for three months of the year, taking a $100 cut of the $800 each of his 100 or so customers a week pay to jam themselves into a rubber boat or small dinghy to reach the Greek islands. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 There's just a few hours, A few more hours that's all the time we got. But Ima fleeing Turkey in the morning! Bing bang the bombs are gonna boom! Hide your Heathers from me, call out the Army! But I'll be inside your border in no time! |
| Posted by: Shipman 2015-09-18 11:32 |