Notes from Kastellorizo-Some Thoughts on Working with Refugees in Turkey and Greece

My last blog post criticized the New York Times for its insensitivity it showed to Syrian refugees in a recent article on swimming tours taking place between Turkey and Greece. Obviously, as refugees are dying in these waters, the lack of reference to this was an outrage. 

A dear friend of mine Shellie Corman, who is a long term resident in Turkey and who has been involved with helping Syrian refugees for years, is currently on the Greek island Kastellorizo organizing aid for refugees, just a short way from the Turkish city of Kas. I asked if she would so kindly write something for my blog. I thank her for agreeing to share with her thoughts about the state of the refugees and the work she and other volunteers are doing.  

                       
 Notes from Kastellorizo

After watching the refugee situation and getting involved with some groups helping refugees in Istanbul for the past few years, I decided to come over to the Greek side to work directly with arrivals coming from Turkey by boat on their journey to what they believe will be a better life, or at least a safer place for now.   Here is what I have seen and learned in the past few days on the ground.  

I arrived here from Kas, Turkey with a group of foreigners that all volunteered to help distribute donated clothing to people who either left everything behind, lost their things at sea, or arrived soaking wet.  We outfitted numerous families, many of them with small children in warm jackets, pants, socks, shoes, hats, and had some lovely personal interactions which I think is also important to people that must feel totally abandoned by the world.     

I quickly realized that on this small island, population 200, there was a resistance to the refugees.  They are overwhelmed by the stream of arrivals, mostly Muslims, and looking so different to what they are used to seeing.  After 3 days here we were woken up at 3:45 a.m. with the news that  the clothing center was on fire.  It was quite obviously  arson.  Thousand of euros worth of clothes, shoes, hats, gloves, pampers, hygiene products etc. went up in flames.

Here is what I have seen and learned by being here.   The arriving refugees are so varied in terms of countries of origin, economic levels, education levels, age. ( from 1 month to 80 years old). Tribal people, doctors, shepherds,engineers,  Sunnis Muslims, Shiites , Yazidis,  Christians and many other layers of society  all  thrown into the same boat, no pun intended.  

There had been a sleeping hall which was closed down by the mayor a week before I arrived, the clothing distribution center was burned and so virtually there is very little being done on an organized level for the arriving refugees.   A very sad time in history for humanity. We have not learned from our past mistakes.

Can Dundar: A Journalist's Struggle to Defy the Odds

Last Friday, after 92 days of being imprisoned, the Editor-in-Chief of the Turkish opposition daily Cumhuriyet, Can Dundar, and his colleague, journalist Erdem Gul, were released pending trial.  This came upon a surprise decision by Turkey's Constitutional Court's ruling that their rights had been breached. The two journalists were jailed 5 months after the newspaper released a story on a secret Turkish arms transfer to Syria. If found guilty the two could face life imprisonment.  

Are you on way to the newspaper? A smiling Can Dundar: Its really late-I suppose later on tomorrow we will be there. pic.twitter.com/DNchxQsosB

— Louis Fishman (@Istanbultelaviv) February 26, 2016

In January 2014 the story first made headlines as Turkish prosecutors demanded the seizure of the secret arm shipment, which the Turkish government had claimed was humanitarian goods. All state authorities who took part in the raid were later jailed or purged from their work accused of numerous crimes related to espionage and staging a coup against the government.

Can Dundar-This picture originally appeared in Todays Zaman 

What makes this current story unique is that for over a year, Can Dundar has been in a public scuffle with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It is important to keep in mind that Dundar is also not just your average journalist. He is a very popular writer and a documentary film maker. He is sharp, witty and has a laid-back yet hard working character. In short, his boldness has proven to be the perfect match for Erdogan with the two constantly butting heads.  

In fact, it was Erdogan who opened the criminal investigation against him, demanding a life sentence, stating that Dundar would pay the "highest price" for his actions. Already late in 2014, a case had been opened against Dundar for defaming Erdogan and his son, Bilal. Last December, however, while imprisoned for the Syrian arms transfer story, he was found innocent on the charge of defamation, much to the dismay of the president.

As people gathered last Friday evening at the Silivri prison gates awaiting their release, they ended up having to wait until 3:00 am, thus coinciding with Erdogan's birthday. Dundar seized this opportunity to take a jab at the Turkish president, cynically stating that he was sorry that his friends had to wait so long but his February 26th release was well-timed as a birthday present for Erdogan. 

Well, Erdogan has taken their public quarrel to a new level all together. On Sunday he stated the following shocking words, "I will remain silent to the decision the court has given. But I don't need to accept it, I want to make that clear. I don't obey or respect the decision…this has nothing to do with press freedom. This is a case of spying." 

In other words, the spat between the two now has the Turkish president openly defying the Constitutional Court. 

Dundar seems poised to continue on with his struggle, now addressing Erdogan in an open letter, where he thanks him for sending him to prison, explaining how the prison has made him a better person and writer, in addition to showing the world the authoritarian shift taking place in Turkey. According to Cumhuriyet, the article has had a record 4 million hits. 

What is clear is that the stakes could not be higher and that this saga is far from over, not to mention the fact that according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, "Turkey remains the worst jailers of the worldwide," and that Dundar and Gul could once again find themselves behind bars for a very long time. For now, only time will tell....  

The New York Times Travel Section's Bad Judgement: Swimming among Refugees

Last Friday, the New York Times travel section came out with an article, which caught my attention. The article, "In Turkey, Adventure Travel Takes the Plunge," introduces to its reader the Turkish coastal region of Kas, just miles away from the Greek Island of Meis (Kastellorizo). Here, Americans and Europeans will find nothing short of paradise. 

What the article fails to highlight is that Syrian refugees are dying in these waters with increasing frequency. Since January 1, over 400 people have lost their lives making the journey from the Turkish coast to the Greek Islands, while 72,000 have reached Greece, traumatized by their sea journey and facing new hardships. True, most of the refugees are crossing much farther north from Kas, in the Aegean waters, but just earlier this month a group of Syrian refugees were returned to Turkey after trying to reach the island of Meis. 

The NYT article does briefly mention the refugee issue. However, the information provided appears to have been written last summer and not updated. Further, it strangely juxtaposes the refugee vis-à-vis the tourist, who is unable to reach Greece:  

Our family agreed that it was our best holiday ever...

Not everything was perfect, of course. I would have preferred actually stepping onto the isle of Meis to start the Greece-to-Turkey swim instead of hopping from the boat a long way offshore. (That shore-to-shore crossing is undertaken by locals in an annual race in June — and at night by refugees passing through Turkey to seek asylum in Greece. Ali Gumrukcu, the captain of the daily ferry between Kas and Meis, said that of the roughly 400 refugees crossing the water into Greece each month, most of them from Syria, 10 to 20 brave the swim, waiting for nights with no moonlight so they would be undetected).

However, these waters are safe. According to the NYT:

The locations usually feature clear, relatively calm water free of watercraft and sharks. The tour guides are certified beach lifeguards with first aid training and powerboat licenses. They say the biggest hazards can be Jet Skis, jelly fish, sudden storms and swimmer fatigue.

Seeing endless tragic videos of refugees in trouble at sea, I could not help compare their plight with that of the European and American tourists:

*A tourist spends about $1,000, which gets them hotel, boat and daytime meals but not flights, dinners or tips. The pricier tours are based on boats. Swimmers are often in their 30s to 50s, though ages range from 16 to the 80s.

*A Refugee pays about a $1000 to a smuggler to cross from Turkey to Greece. They too are of all ages. However, if they are caught by the Turkish Coast Guard (or soon to be NATO ships), they are forcefully returned, with smugglers making away with their money. 

*Tourists are required to get travel insurance. 

*Refugees have no life insurance.

*Tourists are promised to have the luxury of having certified life vests

*Refugees often buy uncertified life vests which are dangerous. They are not able to hold body weight, which lead to drowning.  

*Tourists are guaranteed an "open water swimming experience"

*Refugees often receive the "open water swimming" experience with even the strong ones not strong enough to survive.  

Turkish Coast Guard rescues a lone survivor, have a watch and learn more about the refugee issue. 

  -----------------------

Of course, my point is not to say that Turkey should not be a tourist destination. That would be ridiculous. I too have been to Kas and can tell you the article is not at all exaggerating in terms of its beauty. It is simply breathtaking. Further, tourism continues to the Greek Islands despite the influx of refugees. There is no difference here. Further, Turkey is home to over 2.5 million refugees and should be commended on taking in so many people. This is certainly not a reason not to go there.  

However, the NYT travel section editor should have shown sensitivity to the issue, realizing that now is not the time to pitch a story about a summer swim get-a-way in a place where so many people are drowning on a daily basis. Or, if it did not want to shelve the article, it could have provided up-to-date information on the plight of the refugees, weaving it into the story. For example, one local Turkish site provides information on how tourists can help refugees while visiting Kas, or the neighboring Kalkan.  

Perhaps, the travel editor should have picked up its own paper to understand that the timing was not right. The NYT regularly reports about the refugee crisis. In fact, just a day after the discussed article came out, its Istanbul Correspondent, Ceylan Yeginsu, issued an important in-depth story focusing on the rampant death of refugees at sea, entitled: Constant Tide of Migrants at Sea, and at Turkish Cemetery, which I highly recommend to read.