In photos: this is the wall that Turkey is building to stop Afghan migrants

August 19, 202112:18

TURKEY.- A brief, a plastic bottle and a few recent footprints are some of the signs left by Afghan migrants who succeeded in encircling the new wall under construction on the border between Turkey and Iran.

The Taliban’s return to power in Kabul has left the future of many Afghans in great uncertainty and, in Europe, It raised fears of a new migratory wave similar to that of 2015, when millions of people arrived on the Old Continent fleeing conflicts in the Middle East, via Turkey.

Migrants who manage to cross the border between Iran, Afghanistan’s neighbor, and Turkey are they hide during the day and walk west at night, towards Turkish metropolises like Istanbul, or, in some cases, towards Europe.

Originally from Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, Mohammed Arif paid a passerby 600 euros to take him to Istanbul. But the latter disappeared in the province of Van in eastern Turkey.

“It’s been 25 days since I took the road”explains the 18-year-old. “Retracing the path is too dangerous. Where would I go anyway? He said.

For the time being, The United Nations has not reported any “large-scale” migratory movements. on Afghan borders and the number of Afghans arriving in Europe fell by around 40% in the first six months of the year, according to European Union data.

Corn the images of Afghan citizens leaving their country, like Arif, arouse the concern of both European and Turkish leaders, whose president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been pressured to toughen his immigration policy due to the economic crisis the country is going through.

Referring to the construction of the border wall, Erdogan promised last week “Completely stop” illegal entry into Turkish territory.

In the last days, building this wall, 243 km long and lined with trenches, seems to have accelerated.

156 km have already been raised at the border with Iran (which is more than 500 km long) and patrols are strengthening, officials told AFP.

But Arif and dozens of Afghans contacted by AFP they succeeded in passing to the Turkish side, along the wall.

After several days of walking, some rested near a railway line in Tatvan, 200 km west of the border.

“Afghanistan is over,” said Nakivillah Ikbali, who passed through Pakistan and Iran before reaching Turkey, with a sigh.

“The situation will get worse. I’m 19. I would like to go to school or to the mosque, but my life is gone“He adds.

In the case of 17-year-old Arman Ahmadi, this is the second time he has attempted to migrate. In the past, was arrested in Istanbul, where he worked, undocumented, as a hairdresser and was expelled from the country. He would like to settle permanently in Turkey.

“The Turkish authorities tell me to go back to Afghanistan, But this is war!He exclaims. “I don’t want to go to Europe. If Turkey accepts to host me, this is where I want to stay ”.

According to official figures, Turkey hosts 120,000 Afghan refugees and some 300,000 illegal Afghan migrants.

Metin Corabatir, Turkish export spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), explains that Iran, a country located between Afghanistan and Turkey, absorbed so far a good part of the Afghan migrants.

Thus, the Islamic Republic “has welcomed two million Afghans during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979“Corabatir told AFP.

But, as a result of US sanctions linked to Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s economy has been hit hard.

“How well will Iran be able to offer protection to the new arrivals?” We don’t know yet, ”Corabatir said.

However, 16-year-old Mohammed Zamir sees no future for himself without the help of a foreign country.

“People have no other choice. They have neither money nor work, ”he assures us. “What can we do about it?” Where will we go if the neighboring countries do not welcome us?

AFP Agency

Photos: AP and AFP

Photo edition: Fernanda Corbani

THE NATION