A mysterious campaign and an unknown leadership.. Who is behind the Syrian "convoy of light" in Turkey?

ANKARA

- An intense discussion has taken place on the communication platforms in Turkey over the past few days, following the emergence of a mysterious campaign via the instant messaging application "Telegram" inviting Syrians to participate in a convoy called the "Convoy of Light" with the aim of heading from Turkey to Europe.

So far, the identity of those in charge of the campaign, called "Migration to Europe.. The Caravan of Light", is not known, and its activity is limited to groups in "Telegram", where supporters say that the number of those involved is about 70,000, and a person called "Jad Selim" introduces himself As the founder of the campaign.

Al Jazeera Net was unable to verify the identity of the campaign launcher, which aims - according to him - to "reduce the burden" on the Turkish people and emigrate to Europe after a wave described as "racist" against Syrian refugees, in parallel with the decline in their economic conditions.

Syrian refugees complain about their poor economic conditions and "racism" towards them (Reuters)

Gratitude to the Turkish people

While Jad Selim and his supporters of the campaign express their thanks to the "Turkish people and the Turkish state", who "carried us in their heart and soul and supported us and protected us from the bombing", they demanded that the European Union countries "bear part of this burden to relieve the Turkish people."

And they call on all countries to facilitate the movement of the displaced.

The media spokesman for the convoy, who introduced himself to Al Jazeera Net in the name of Abdullah, stated that the campaign "began with a personal effort by Brother Jad Selim and expanded and became an initiative without the support of institutions or politicians from any party."

Regarding the convoy that they intend to drive from all Turkish states towards the border with Europe, Abdullah explained that a special group has been established for each state, refraining from revealing more for reasons describing it as security.

He pointed out that the convoy will not seek to clash with the police during the march, and said, "We will carry an olive branch and roses," adding, "We do not want to incite or offend the Turkish government and people," but the campaign officials' insistence on preventing any Syrians from outside Turkey from participating in the convoy, raised doubts about its goals.

While the founder of the campaign calls in many of his messages to the necessity of communicating with all organizations concerned with providing assistance to the convoy, the spokesman Abdullah said, “We were promised support from civil society organizations when the convoy started, and we contacted the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, but unfortunately we did not get answer them."

The opposition is calling for a boycott

The aforementioned Telegram group is the only outlet through which the campaign organizers communicate with those wishing to join it.

Its officials sent many guidance messages in the form of audio and some video recordings, but after "disguising" their voices and pictures, which raised concerns about the unknown parties that might be behind the entire campaign.

Meanwhile, the director of communication for the Syrian-Turkish Joint Committee, Enas Najjar, called for not joining the convoy, "because the Turkish authorities consider this to be against the law," and she said in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, "We are not sure whether the names of the participants or any information about them will be taken."

The official in the Joint Committee, which is the official channel for coordination between the Turkish government and the Syrian opposition regarding the refugee situation, stated that "the road is not paved for departure at all, and we are at the gates of winter, as we are witnessing these days the opening of schools."

"As an official body, it is not possible to support such a call, especially since Turkey is a signatory to relevant international agreements," Najjar added.

Syrian refugees cross the border into Turkey (Reuters)

"expression of anger"

Al Jazeera Net polled some members of the campaign's main Telegram group about the reasons for their joining.

One of the members, Marwa Zarzour, confirmed that she suffers from a difficult situation and has two children and is afraid of the cold winter in the absence of assistance.

Zarzour pointed out that her husband was not able to work in one place on a regular basis "due to problems related to racism."

As for D.P., who requested that her name not be disclosed, she told Al Jazeera Net that she was not interested in joining the convoy, but that she came to verify the matter after hearing about it in order to inform her brother, who intends to emigrate, what the outcome of this campaign would be.

For his part, one of the youths, named Mustafa, said about the reason for joining the group, that he was "only to follow the news and check on the situation of the youth."

He stated that he holds Turkish citizenship.

And Enas Najjar, director of communication at the Syrian-Turkish Joint Committee, considered that "the increasing numbers in the group are an expression of anger towards the difficult conditions the refugees are experiencing here, but this makes the racists feel that their efforts are beginning to bear fruit."

"These calls are in the interest of racists, not refugees, as they do not lead to any tangible results," she added.

Strict measures at the borders of Europe

As for Ghazwan Kronfol, head of the "Free Syrian Lawyers Association" based in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, he believes that European countries, especially Bulgaria and Greece, have taken strict measures on their borders to prevent the convoy from crossing.

He pointed out that small groups may be able to cross, "but not in the circulating numbers."

He stressed that the value and impact of the campaign is "more informational than realistic and tangible."

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, the lawyer pointed out that several reasons push the Syrians to engage in the campaign, including "hate speech and racist crimes" that are claiming lives, in addition to the difficult economic conditions that no longer allow the Syrians to pay the rent for their apartment despite working for long hours. Sometimes illegal, which makes him vulnerable to deportation as well, according to the lawyer.

Refugees, including Syrians, attempt to cross the Turkish border into Greece (Getty Images)

Fear of going back

For his part, refugee rights activist Taha Ghazi believes that the Turkish government's announcement of voluntary return projects has raised fear among the Syrian refugee community in general, especially those fleeing the internal Syrian governorates.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Ghazi pointed out that "this category of refugees is now afraid that they will be included in voluntary return and resettlement projects in the northern rural areas, which do not represent their original homeland."

At the same time, the human rights activist suggested that the Turkish government agencies will not allow the convoy to reach the border with the European Union, "because it will constitute an internal burden and a phenomenon that requires almost completely stopping the travel permit, which I completely exclude."

While he referred to Turkey's commitment to the 2016 agreement with the European Union to keep Syrian refugees on its lands and prevent them from heading west, in exchange for a European commitment to send an aid package to Turkey, Ghazi ruled out the achievement of the "Convoy of Light" campaign.

"I do not see a possible chance for the success of this campaign, especially since it is outside the scope of the work of United Nations bodies and organizations," he said.

He believed that "it may receive a media echo, but it will be dealt with strictly and will not be allowed to continue its path."