Civil wars, drought and hunger in many parts of the world, especially in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, continue to put millions of people to refugee status. There are now 65 million refugees in the world.

On the other hand, a very difficult journey is waiting for the refugees who are trying to reach regions which look more secure like Europe. The disasters in the Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea in the last three years have not been able to stop the deaths even though they have been reduced a bit by the “Readmission Agreement”.

According to IMKANDER's report in 2017, which regularly reports on the disasters in the seas every year, 3 thousand 336 people died in the seas in the last year. This figure shows that there is a fall compared to the past years, but it shows the magnitude of the catastrophic figure, which is still very high.

IMKANDER General Chairman Murat Özer stated that this journey of death was not only a disaster for the refugees and that other problems are waiting them in Europe at the same time. The 60 page report which is prepared in Turkish and English, sent to the UN, EU representations and all human rights organizations.

“Mediterranean and Aegean Sea filled with corpses of refugee children”

“Tens of thousands of people lost their lives so far in the seas those who got on journey to reach Europe. The Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea are full of corpses of refugee children. Those who can reach the West are facing increasingly racist winds in Europe. Parties with anti-refugee, xenophobic, and Islamophobic approaches are more powerful than ever especially in the Netherlands, Austria and Germany.”

“Readmission Agreement" does not include a permanent solution

The report also compares the refugees policies between Turkiye and developed countries. Özer stated that this situation changed the assumptions about human rights, said, “The sensitive attitude of the developing countries like Turkiye to the refugee problem expresses a highly precious hope for the future. We wish that this principle stance and correct conception are not sacrificed to everyday political calculations, which refugees shouldn’t be bargain for matter of negotiation.”

IMCHANDER's Refugee Death Report 2017 also highlights that the burden of refugees lies on the backs of less developed countries.

In the report, it is said, “The strategic accounts of the global powers, the desire to reach more of the energy resources, and the wars that are waged because of pressures on the people who do not think and believe not like them, destroy the underdeveloped and developing countries but the developed countries which are the most important actors of these wars, do not want to lay the burden on. Today, Turkiye has the largest number of refugee countries, 1.7 million refugees in Pakistan, and Lebanon, which hosts 1.2 million people. But none of these countries have any direct role in these wars.” (ILKHA)