By The European Union is worried that the Afghan refugee crisis will be a repeat of the 2015 refugee crisis.
Greece is worried that this will be a repeat of 2015 where they had a million refugees pass through their borders from Turkey before traveling to other countries. Greece completed a border wall on its border with Turkey, and they have a new surveillance system put in place to stop asylum seekers from entering. The prime minister stated, “Our borders will remain safe and inviolable.”
Meanwhile, Turkey is reinforcing their border wall with Iran.
Authorities say there are 182,000 registered Afghan migrants in Turkey, and up to an estimated 120,000 unregistered ones. Those numbers are dwarfed by the 3.6 million refugees from neighbouring Syria.
President Tayyip Erdogan urged European countries to take responsibility for any new influx, warning that Turkey had no intention of becoming “Europe’s migrant storage unit.”
President Erdogan has firmly stated, “We won’t become Europe’s refugee warehouse.” He argues that it is up to other European countries to house the influx of Afghan refugees.
“Turkey has no duty, responsibility, or obligation to be Europe’s refugee warehouse.”
Turkey’s president erdogan
The Turkish side of the mountainous border with Iran is lined by bases and watchtowers. Patrol cars monitor around the clock for movement on the Iranian side, from where migrants, smugglers, and Kurdish militants frequently try to cross into Turkey.
The two prime ministers from Turkey and Greece have been discussing how they wanted to support Iran, and help them house and maintain Afghan immigrants in order to prevent refugees from coming their way.
It’s ironic that President Erdogan considers himself and his administration in support of Muslims but literally and figurativley fails to provide support to Muslim refugees. As Muslims, we should be supporting each other — they should be helping and opening their doors to the Muslim refugees who need them their most.
The walls of Greece and Turkey may be literal walls around their countries, but it’s more like walls around their hearts.