A new Syrian asylum journey .. "European buses" move from the heart of Istanbul

Imran Abdullah - Istanbul

Since Friday morning, the pages of the communication sites and WhatsApp groups that include Syrians in Turkey have announced the start of the start of free buses from Watan Street in the center of Istanbul's Fatih neighborhood to Edrana, northwestern Turkey, on the land borders with Greece and Bulgaria.

Large numbers of individuals and families flocked from around Istanbul and from nearby cities to a gathering point located directly next to "Fatih Wishes", the largest security center for the Turkish Ministry of Interior in the city with a population of more than 15 million people.

And Al Jazeera Net monitored the arrival of hundreds of Syrians, Iraqis and refugees from countries that included North Africa, the Arab world and even the countries of Central Asia to the main gathering area to go to Edirne.

While there was no accurate information on how to cross the border with Bulgaria and Greece to reach Europe, everyone was sure that Turkey had loosened its grip on the border and opened the doors to the influx of refugees into Europe.

Overland to Europe
On their destination, a group of Syrians said on Watan Street that most of them are heading to Greece, while others hope to reach Bulgaria, including - on a long trip through eastern European countries - to Germany, Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands, or others.

Amin - a thirty-Syrians displaced from the city of Aleppo - said that he quickly prepared his needs when he heard the news of Turkey allowing the Syrians to move to Europe, and showed his enthusiasm for immigration after several previous unsuccessful attempts due to security restrictions on the border areas in Turkey and preventing refugees from reaching them in years Last last.

He added that he did not find a suitable job in Turkey and the situation became more difficult, and he had to leave the rest of his luggage with his companions, with whom he shares an apartment on the outskirts of Istanbul, and is satisfied with limited clothes, simple food items and a small amount for the trip.

On the other hand, Engin Masoud, who is a Turkish taxi driver who has lined up with dozens of taxi drivers to connect the Syrian families with their belongings to the point of assembly and departure, said that he feels sorry for these migrants and wishes them a good life in Europe.

Reuters news agency quoted the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on Friday that it had not been informed of any change in Turkey's policy regarding Syrian refugees, nor has it received any reports of people heading towards Greece or other parts of Europe.

A spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development Party, Omar Glick, said earlier that his government’s policy has not changed regarding refugees, “but it is not now in a position where it can control refugees.”

Edirne borderlands
Buses run from the center of the European side of Istanbul to the state of Edirne, which is located in the far northwest of the country, and in the state - which was the capital of the Ottomans before the conquest of Constantinople in the mid-15th century - there is a border gate with Bulgaria in the north (Cape Collet) and another with Greece in the south (Uppsala).

The border line between Turkey and Bulgaria crosses forests and green areas, while the border line between Turkey and Greece often passes in the middle of the Meric River, which refugees cross with small rubber boats towards Greek forests.

Many Syrian refugees in Istanbul and other Turkish cities are awaiting news of the refugees arriving in Edirne by free buses, to find out the transit routes. However, the difficulty of communications in the border areas led to the spread of many rumors.

Yasser - a father of two children from Deir Ezzor in northeastern Syria - said he was waiting for news of the arrival of the first batches of refugees who left Istanbul by land before risking with his family to go there.

He added that he had heard that the refugees - after arriving in Edirne - covered a distance by walking and crossing the river, after which they would have coordination with those who could easily travel to other European countries, stressing that Greece is just a crossing and not a favorite destination for the refugees at all.

Yasser expressed his hesitation and fear of the trip, especially with his family, and said that he was afraid that they would have to sleep overnight, or it would be difficult for them to return again after crossing the border.

Greece and Bulgaria
Greek press sources spoke of the arrival of numbers of refugees by land from Edirne Turkey and by sea through Izmir and the Aegean regions in Turkey towards the Greek islands, especially Kios Lesvos and Samos, which includes refugee camps, while the Greek population grows increasingly from the waves of asylum.

And on his account on the social networking site Twitter, German reporter Der Spiegel in Greece, Georgios Christides, confirmed the arrival of large numbers of refugees to Greece, taking advantage of the opening of the Turkish authorities the border, and said that some refugees were stopped while some of them remained stuck in the border area and Greek forces fired tear gas canisters at them .

Last week, 17 human rights organizations warned of the growing hatred of foreigners and asylum-seekers, and indicated their difficult conditions on the islands, while their asylum applications were not decided for months and many were not allowed to leave for Greek mainland.

Ibrahim - a young man in his mid-twenties who fled from the countryside of Aleppo to Istanbul - said he had acquaintances in Germany who would arrange his arrival there if they could reach Greece by avoiding border guards.

He added to Al-Jazeera Net that he had been waiting for the opportunity to go to Europe for years, and for this reason, after hearing the news of Turkey allowing the refugees to go, he only needed an hour to prepare his only bag that he carried on his back.

Safer
For his part, Khaled expressed his enthusiasm for the trip, saying that the land borders are safer than traveling by sea, yet he expressed his concern about staying in Greece, for periods that may be prolonged, expressing his fear of the difficulty of reaching them to the countries of central and western Europe.

Amid reports that refugees from Greece were prevented from crossing into Greece by the Greek border guards, Khaled said that Greece might allow them to pass if the number increased, as happened nearly five years ago, and had to open the way for refugees to the Balkans on the way to Central Europe, instead of holding them in Refugee camps, as he put it.

Khaled wished to complete his studies in Germany, which he described as the "kiss of refugees" in Europe, and said that he had been working in Istanbul informally for long hours for a simple wage that was not enough, and wished to find a suitable job and a better life in Europe.