EUROPE-MIGRANTS/TURKEY Hundreds of migrants seek ways of reaching Greece in Aegean town of Bodrum

Record ID: 143704

  • Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/TURKEY Hundreds of migrants seek ways of reaching Greece in Aegean town of Bodrum
  • Date: 17th August 2015
  • Summary: BODRUM, TURKEY (AUGUST 17, 2015) (REUTERS) MIGRANTS WAITING TO BE RESCUED AT A SHORE AFTER THEIR DINGHY CAPSIZED VIEW OF BODRUM MARINA MIGRANTS BEING TAKEN TO TURKISH COAST GUARD BOAT TURKISH COAST GUARD BOAT SAILING TO PORT MIGRANTS WAITING ON STREETS LIFE JACKETS (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH SHOPKEEPER, ENVER ATAMAN, SAYING: "They come here and they get across (to Greec
  • Embargoed: 1st September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA50KT777DPEQMCFAMKNRGLEQRE
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Hundreds of migrants from Syria, Pakistan and Afghanistan anxiously wait for night fall at a garage in the Aegean holiday resort of Bodrum on Monday (August 17) as they prepare to attempt the treacherous passage to Greece.
    Every night hundreds of migrants attempt to set sail to Greek Islands from western Turkish cities on inflatable dinghies that many tourists use to sail and relax on during the day.
    "They come here and they get across (to Greece). They set sail every night and the next morning, new migrants come. It's a pity. These people live under very difficult conditions. They are desperate. The authorities are very negligent. They don't take any precautions. This is a big problem," said Turkish shopkeeper Enver Ataman.
    Turkey's position as a bridge from Asia to Europe, as well as its wealth compared with neighbouring states, has long made it both a destination and a transit point for migrants from the Middle East and as far afield as Africa and South Asia.
    "The situation in Syria is very bad. There is no humanity in your treatment there, everybody has left, no one is left. Everyone is heading to Europe to find a better life," said an unnamed Syrian migrant.
    A Pakistani migrant said he was looking to find new opportunities abroad.
    "My dream is.. I want some business. Like a you know, a big, big type of (business). You know I have a lot of dreams," he said.
    Tens of thousands of migrants cross Greece's sea and land borders every year, the vast majority via Turkey.
    Last week (August 11) the Turkish coast guard rescued 330 Syrians adrift in the Aegean Sea after failing to reach Greece.
    Crisis-hit Greece has seen a dramatic rise in the number of people seeking refuge. The United Nations refugee agency said 124,000 had arrived this year by sea.
    Turkey is home to more than 1.8 million Syrian refugees escaping the four-year-old civil war.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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