Turkish authorities have over the past year stepped up their efforts to detain and deport unregistered migrants, including ones that have been residing in the country for years. Some of those being expelled from Turkey are political asylum seekers who cannot return to their home countries.
Given the similarities in language and culture, many Iranian migrants opt to be deported to the Kurdistan Region after being told that they need to leave Turkey. Sasan Zraei, 32, is one of those migrants.
Sasan had to leave Iran around 12 years ago on account of being pursued by authorities for his political activities. He immediately sought asylum in Turkey and resided in Istanbul up until last year when his residence permit expired and he had to spend nearly six months in different removal centers.
With his hands shaking and breath growing heavy, he told Rudaw English of the nightmarish nature of the Turkish removal centers.
“I had only seen stuff like that in the movies and never believed anyone can be that cruel,” said Sasan, “Thirty people were sleeping in a 20 meter room. 2500 people were imprisoned in one camp. There were no medical services… There was one doctor for 2500 people.”
Sasan was detained by airport security forces when they realized that his residence had expired. He was there to meet his parents who had flown from Iran to see their son.
He was initially taken to Istanbul’s Tuzla removal center, where he stayed for ten days, before being relocated to the Erzurum removal center, east of the country, where he would stay for the next four months.
“A hundred people shared one bathroom and toilet. They would bring us water only twice a day, which was never enough and there were always fights over water. The food was inedible and we were always hungry,” he added.
“Stealing food, blankets, and other belongings was a common practice in the centers. Sexual assault against young boys [by other migrants in the center] was an everyday thing. If someone tried to escape, the center’s security forces would strip everyone down in the cold of night,” Sasan lamented.
“Some people could not bear the pain. I saw two Algerian refugees in front of me attempting suicide by drinking liquid soap.”
Rudaw English was not able to independently verify these accusations, but an international refugee organization monitoring the situation in Turkey told the publication that migrants are heavily mistreated in most of the removal centers across the country.
“The migrants are treated very badly, especially if they ask for services like food, medical needs, anything, they are subjected to physical assault… If you stay quiet and not ask for anything until you are deported, you are good,” a representative of the NGO, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Rudaw English.
One of the biggest challenges for those who have family or loved ones detained is the inability to inquire about them as the centers refuse to provide any information on their status, according to the representative, exacerbated by the fact that there are not many lawyers who specialize in refugee cases in Turkey and those who do charge very expensive fees.
Sasan was transferred to the Agri removal center, near the Iranian border, after four months, where he encountered dozens of Iranian lawyers, journalists, and activists who had had to leave the country due to their political activities.
He has been living in Erbil for the past four months. Despite not speaking Kurdish fluently, he said he is still grateful for the peace of mind he gets to enjoy in the Kurdistan Region capital, away from the horrors he experienced in the past year.
Turkey hosts the world’s largest number of refugees, with about 3.6 million registered Syrian refugees and around 320,000 persons of concern from other nationalities, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
In its annual report for 2022, Amnesty International said that Turkish forces had used “unlawful force” including firing live ammunition to force thousands of Afghan refugees to return to Iran, and had also arbitrarily detained and forcefully returned hundreds of Syrians.
Additional reporting by Chenar Chalak
