EUROPE-MIGRANTS/TURKEY Migrants contemplate their future as they wait to set sail from Turkish coast
Record ID:
142315
EUROPE-MIGRANTS/TURKEY Migrants contemplate their future as they wait to set sail from Turkish coast
- Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/TURKEY Migrants contemplate their future as they wait to set sail from Turkish coast
- Date: 27th August 2015
- Summary: BADEMLI VILLAGE, TURKEY (AUGUST 27, 2015) (REUTERS) VIEW OF BEACH VIEW OF GREEK ISLAND OF LESBOS AS SEEN FROM TURKISH COAST MIGRANTS SITTING UNDER TREE CHILDREN PLAYING VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS SITTING WOMAN SITTING WITH HER CHILD MAN WALKING PAST VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS SITTING VARIOUS OF BOY SITTING MIGRANTS WALKING, CARRYING WATER (SOUNDBITE) (English) AFGHAN MIGRANT MOHAMMED MOHAMMEDI SAYING: "I have no future there. I have no safety there. I need a new life. I need a new start and I think Europe is my way. It's a life that I want. I like their lifestyle. I like their rules. I like their everything." MIGRANTS SITTING UNDER TREE (SOUNDBITE) (English) AFGHAN MIGRANT MOHAMMED MOHAMMEDI SAYING: "This is dangerous yes but it has the benefits for me, for my future, for my family because I can continue my study there. I can be a man there." VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS SITTING UNDER TREES BEHRAMKALE, TURKEY (AUGUST 27, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF A DINGHY CARRYING MIGRANTS TO GREEK ISLAND OF LESBOS VARIOUS OF ANOTHER DINGHY CARRYING MIGRANTS TO GREEK ISLAND OF LESBOS SAILING AS A MAN IN A LIFE BUOY SWIMS AFTER THE DINGHY
- Embargoed: 11th September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Turkey
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA648F9X929NW2RE7V7EKT6QACI
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Dozens of Syrian and Afghan migrants waited in Bademli Village, near the coast of Turkey on Thursday (August 27) for opportunities to reach the Greek Island of Lesbos where they are hoping to start a new life.
Most were waiting for a boat to arrive so they could make the short crossing to Lesbos which lies a mere 10 km's (6 miles) across the Aegean Sea.
Twenty-four-year-old Afghan Mohammed Mohammedi, along with other migrants, attempted the journey on Wednesday (August 26) but their boat capsized and local fishermen helped them back to shore.
He says prior to arriving in Turkey, he had spent eight years in Iran.
But, he says, he can no longer stay there.
"I have no future there. I have no safety there. I need a new life. I need a new start. I think Europe is my way. It is a life that I want. I like their lifestyle. I like their rules. I like their everything," Mohammedi said.
He says the dangers of crossing to Greece will not stop him from pursuing his goal.
"This is dangerous yes but it have its benefits for me for my future, for my family because I can continue my study there. I can be a man there," Mohammedi added.
Depending on weather conditions, the crossing from Bademli village usually takes 20 to 30 minutes.
Migrants could be seen setting off from another coastal area, Behramkale in rubber dinghies, attempting to reach Lesbos.
The NATO member state, situated between Europe and the Middle East, has won international praise for taking in 2 million refugees.
But it has warned it is reaching capacity, and thousands are now making the perilous journey by boat from Turkey to Greece in a bid to enter Europe.
Greece, mired in its worst economic crisis in generations, has been found largely unprepared for a mass influx of refugees.
Tens of thousands of migrants have entered Greece illegally since the beginning of the year, representing what the European Union has described as one of the biggest humanitarian crises since World War Two. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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