Following the government’s comments of “There are 3 million refugees waiting to come to our country from Iran”, the flow of refugees from Iran to Turkey continues unabated. The refugees have been waiting for days in the Van Central Bus Station and they are to be transferred to mainly Kurdish cities, then Istanbul and other large cities in Turkey. Hundreds of young refugees aged 15 to 21 have been waiting in Van for days.

15 YEAR OLD MUHAMMED’S WHOLE FAMILY IS IN AFGHANISTAN

One of the refugees who spoke to the ANF is 15 year old Roza Muhammed, who didn’t want to have her photograph taken. She left her whole family behind in Afghanistan. Muhammed said they had to migrate due to the civil war in Afghanistan and added that ISIS and the Taliban have turned the country into a bloodbath. Muhammed travelled for 10 days from Afghanistan to the Turkey border, from where they were taken to Van.

“I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO AFGHANISTAN AGAIN”

Muhammed said after they were brought to Van, they were detained by the police along with 5 relatives of hers and were kept in prison for 3 months. Muhammed said they want to go to Istanbul, but they have been sleeping in the Van Central Bus Station for days because they have nowhere else to go. She stressed that she will never go back to Afghanistan again.

HUNDREDS OF REFUGEES CAUGHT ON ANF CAMERAS

The refugees have been brought to the region under state control and through the İHH, which led to questions of whether the state was attempting to change the demographic setup of the region, while the AKP government continues to bring refugees in to Van. 

Last month, the hundreds of refugees waiting in the Van Central Bus Station were caught on ANF cameras. The refugees were seen living under trees and on the grass, waiting for the state to take them from the parking lot. 

After the government’s comments of “There are 3 million refugees waiting to come to our country from Iran” during a crisis with the EU, 300 refugees were brought to Van, most of them young Afghans. Efforts were launched to settle these refugees in a tent town set up around the Süphan mountain in Bitlis.

KENAN EVREN SETTLED KYRGYZ CITIZENS IN VAN

Efforts to change the demographic setup of the region have continued since the Republic was founded, and had intensified under the Kenan Evren rule following the military coup of September 12, 1980. In 1982, Kyrgyz citizens were brought in and settled in the lands of the Zilan massacre of 1930 confiscated by the state. This Kyrgyz village now has hundreds of village guards, the highest number in the region.