The Turkish-Iranian border runs in the middle of Kurdistan. Every year dozens of Kurds are killed in "illegal border crossing". Walls and military bases were built to stop refugees and drug trafficking.

Three months ago, AKP ministers said they would "expect a wave of three million refugees from Iran." As a result, the number of border crossings actually increased. In Turkey, the refugees first have to introduce themselves to the IHH, which stands for "Foundation for Human Rights, Freedoms and Humanitarian Aid". This foundation was founded in 1992 in cooperation with the Turkish intelligence service MIT and the Muslim Brotherhood. The Turkish regional administration in Van initially houses the refugees in sports halls. Where they are subsequently taken is unknown.

At the border between Turkey and Iran, a wall of 560 kilometers in length is being built. Construction began last year and 144 kilometers have been built already. In June 2017, Turkish President Erdoğan said: "We will do the same at the border with Iraq, so that entry into our country is under our control. Nobody will cross the border unseen anymore."

The reality is, however, different. The closure of the border has so far affected only those local traders who come from nearby villages and see the only way to financially support their families on the border. However, drug trafficking and the crossing of refugees from all over the world continue unabated.

Cizeyir Özkaplan lives in a village near the border and says: "The border is close for us. In addition, it has already caused the death of many young people. Here a wall and several military bases were built. So how can the refugees cross the border this easily? We have to raise this question publicly."

Lezgîn Botan, a deputy of the Democratic Peoples’ Party HDP for Van province, believes that the AKP government is instrumentalizing the refugees for their political and diplomatic machinations. He tells that: It is used as a dirty, military tool against the Kurds, and it also deliberately changes the demographics of the region. Most of the refugees are millions of people with a radical Islamic background. They have no good education, no work and no hope. They are dangerous and therefore a cause for fear for the European Union. The AKP government knows this too well and uses the refugees as a protective barrier and blackmail against Europe. The drug trade is still perpetrated quite easily with the refugees."