74 - First Class Ticket to Hell

2024 No 74

A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse— after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.”
—Mark 5:25-28

Introduction

Owning a car in America is a big deal. It is different in Europe or Africa. We have a different kind of public transportation than what is found in Europe. The distances we travel to school or work are much further than in many African urban spaces. For middle-class Americans, a car is more than a privilege; it is a necessity. But cars are expensive, especially newer models. Most Americans have to borrow money to buy a car. That requires a job and a verifiable way to repay the loan. I remember when car dealers would try to sell people cars that cost much more than people could possibly afford. You could drive the car for a few months… but when you missed several payments… they would simply take it back. In that case, you were left empty-handed and would lose all your investment. It was all a part of a scheme to separate people from their money.

Such is an excellent way to think about the Eastern Mediterranean Route. We must constantly be reminded of the principle that only people with money can afford to migrate. Those with no money go nowhere. Those with a little money take the longer and the more dangerous routes. Those with a lot of money can find ways to go directly to their desired location. It is somewhere between those with a little and a lot of money that we find migrants flying to Turkey.

Most have convinced themselves that this is a good idea. But like an unwise car purchase, or paying a faith healer, diving in over your head is not hard. Landing in Istanbul is easy. Getting out is much more difficult. If you believe everything you see on social media or trust the smuggler's rhetoric, you will most certainly get burned. Unfortunately, that is the case for the vast majority of sub-Saharan migrants who choose this route.

Today, I want to introduce the transit routes out of Turkey. Each requires the services of a smuggler, and each will cost a significant amount of money. As with the initial journey to Istanbul, they are presented in a way that sounds simple and eminently successful. For the most part, it is all a facade.

The Balkan Route

One must remember that the Balkan Route has always been considered a major transit route for goods, services, and people. Geographically, it is the land bridge between Asia and Western Europe. Do you remember the movie, the Orient Express? That was the train route from Paris to Istanbul. Today, there are major highways and rail lines that connect the two regions. Prior to the migration crisis, people spoke of the Balkan Route when they talked about both legal transportation services... and illegal smuggling and trafficking activities.

When so many migrants flowed into Turkey and Greece in 2014-2015, the Balkans were simply a transit route. The migrants did not have an interest in staying in the region because Europe had an open-door policy and there was nothing there for them. Balkan authorities and other actors simply facilitated the passage. You simply boarded a bus or train and traveled the entire way in a day or two. While it became more difficult, things did not stop when Hungary and Austria closed their borders. Smugglers continued to move paying customers through the region, they just did so in a more clandestine way. Changes in EU policy may have curtailed the mass movements, but rest assured... where there is money... a way across could be found.

Today, there are several routes through the Balkans. One way is for migrants to cross into Bulgaria (from either Turkey or Greece) and make their way to Romania. From there, they pay smugglers between four and ten thousand euros to transport them to Germany. It is neither simple nor safe. We will discuss this route in a more detailed fashion in a later post.

Crossing the Evros River

In the early days of the Arab Spring, smugglers would transport migrants by bus to the Turkish border with either Bulgaria or Greece. From there, they could simply cross on foot or in a small boat. The borders were lightly patrolled because both countries knew the migrants would quickly pass through. Their objective was Europe. As the migrant crisis intensified, however, fences were built to direct migrants toward recognized border crossings and checkpoints. Ultimately, under EU pressure, even those access points were closed. As Balkan and Eastern European countries restricted migrant entries, Bulgaria became less of an option. From then on, the goal was to get to Greece and claim asylum.

Thus, by 2017, the objective was to cross the Evros River, also known as Maritsa, on the border with Greece. It was a dangerous crossing. In the winter, many would die of hypothermia. In the summer, the river flows are high, and many would drown. Greece built her own fences along the more accessible crossing points and increased border patrols in all other areas. One can still get across, but such requires help from the smugglers. Bribes must be paid, and arrangements must be made to ensure someone on the Greek side receives those who make it across. The cost can range from $3-4,500 US. Even then, the journey is far from over. If captured by the Greek police, migrants are often forced to return to Turkey. If they get across without detection, they still have to get far enough away from the border that they can register for asylum without the above risk of pushback. The smugglers promise that they will cross the border undetected and that their associates will be there to help. It is a gamble that seldom pays off.

It is hard to know how many make the attempt each year, how many are successful, and how many are lost. As we will see in our next post, the Greek government reports that they prevented nearly a quarter of a million crossings in 2022. They also arrested over 1,300 smugglers. But that was on the Greek side. The United Nations reports that some 6,000 asylum seekers were registered during the same period. The discrepancy between 6k and 250k simply is too great to accept. What happened to the other 244,000 people intercepted? Illegal pushbacks are commonly reported, and government corruption is difficult to trace.² What we do know is that the movements are real, the loss of life is significant, and the pathway is still being promoted heavily on social media.

Taking a Boat to the Greek Islands

In the same way that a ticket to Turkey sounds simple, a boat seat to the Greek islands does not look complicated. One can see most of the islands on a clear day, with one (Samos) only being only a mile offshore. The smugglers promote proximity as a key advantage to this route. They also emphasize that once on the Greek island, the migrant is officially in the European Union. From there, they can claim asylum and, when accepted, can enjoy complete freedom of movement. There are a lot of half-truths in those promotions.

The islands are indeed close. But that means that the waters are also heavily patrolled and closely watched. Big boats are easily intercepted, and small boats easily capsize. The political climate dictates the Coast Guard on both sides to respond to any incursion. At times, the Turkish government will ignore migrant vessels, and at other times, they will arrest and imprison those who are intercepted. The Greek government has faced credible claims of illegal pushbacks, actually setting intercepted migrants adrift in non-motorized rafts. In 2022, nearly 13,000 migrants were reported to have reached Greek shores.³ In that report, only 326 had died or were reported missing. The challenge is that there is no way to know how many boats left Turkish beaches, and there is no way to know how many people were intercepted and illegally pushed back.

And while it is true that landing in Greece is technically the EU, claiming asylum in Greece is a statistical dead end for most Africans. As we will see, migrants can become stranded on an island for a time that ranges anywhere from weeks to years. Many migrants report that life in these camps is like being in a prison. Being such an easily accessible border country, Greece receives the lion’s share of all EU asylum applications. In 2021, that number was approximately 37,000, with a third coming from the Greek islands.⁴ The difficulty for sub-Saharan Africans is that they are almost always rejected. Why? Because authorities will say that they have previously passed through what was considered a safe country. Once rejected, their forward progress is halted, and they now are on record in Greece. Consequently, they cannot reapply for asylum… even if they somehow could find a way into another country. Ultimately, they end up living in squalid conditions in places like Athens or Thessaloniki. And, if they are not careful, they can be rounded up and pushed back across the Evros River into Turkey.⁵

Luxury Boat to Italy

Since 2019, a new route has begun to open between Turkey and Italy. It is called the "Italian" or the "Calabria" Route. In just the first half of 2022, nearly 6,500 people arrived on Italian shores carried by over 80 different boats.⁷ This route started to become prominent as Greek authorities began to make it much more difficult for migrants to enter Greece. Those who do still must find a way to cross the Balkan mountains to Germany. On this route, migrants can theoretically arrive in Turkey on an airline and then be in Italy within a few weeks. In essence, they bypass Greece entirely. The price is high, often as much as $10,000 USD. Obviously, these individuals are from higher economic classes, so they typically have the money to hire lawyers to assist with the asylum process once they land in Italy. These migrants are easy and profitable targets for the smugglers. A picture of the luxury boat and a testimonial from someone who arrived is all it takes to make a deal.

Becoming evident, however, are the extreme risks of this journey. Smugglers steal private yachts and then fill them with hundreds of migrants. The conditions on these boats are deplorable, often without adequate food and water for the trip. The dangers are genuine. Many of these boats are not equipped for open ocean travel and are skippered with grossly inexperienced helmsmen. There are regular reports of ships that fall short, break down, are rescued, and even lost. It sounds like a broken record, but what is not known is how many depart and how many are lost at sea without a trace. What is known is that those who survive tell a story of misery and terror.

A Short Hop to Cyprus

Yet another route out of Turkey is to go south towards Cyprus. Although the island has been independent from the United Kingdom since 1960, it separated into two parts in 1974. The southern two-thirds is controlled by the Republic of Cyprus (Greek). The self-declared Turkish Republic of North Cyprus administers the northern third. Although the Republic of Cyprus maintains legal sovereignty over the entire island, the United Nations controls a buffer zone known as the "green line." The EU considers the northern territory as illegally occupied by Turkey and has imposed strong economic sanctions.

For the Turkish Cypriots, their link to financial survival is with mainland Turkey. One way they do that is to fill the region with international universities and casinos. Their goal is to compete with gambling hotspots like Macau or Las Vegas. The revenue from international students and these gaming institutions allows the region to overcome the economic embargo imposed by the West. From Turkey’s perspective, it is a win/win. The vices they cannot control are simply exported to a technically independent offshore island. As one might imagine, this creates multiple pathways for smugglers and traffickers to entice people to come… voluntarily or otherwise.

Despite the division, Cyprus became a member of the European Union in 2004. However, the nation is not a signatory of the Schengen Agreement. That means Cyprus's citizens cannot freely enter the EU without a visa. This differs significantly from other member states… such as Greece, Italy, or Spain. And it is here where so many migrants become stranded. Once a migrant is in Turkey, they can cross to Northern Cyprus without a visa or any significant difficulty. From there, with the help of a smuggler, they can cross the "green line" into Southern Cyprus. While they may be able to claim asylum, they cannot move to continental Europe even if it were granted. That part is seldom shared with migrants by the smugglers.

Southern Cyprus currently hosts over 29,000 asylum seekers. Most bought a ticket believing that landing on any part of the island meant that they were in the EU and that it was a pathway to Western Europe. All were sadly mistaken. Of all the routes out of Turkey, this one can be accomplished with the least amount of money and risk. But, it is the one route that takes migrants to a place where progression is nearly impossible.

Conclusion

Migrating to Europe from Africa on the EMR is typically a three-step process. The first step is to arrive in Turkey. That part is not that difficult. The second step is to get out of Turkey and into Greece. And while Greece is certainly in the EU, it is geographically isolated from the rest of Europe. That means that moving forward requires taking yet another land or sea route. Those routes are expensive, dangerous, and hold no real promise of success.

Despite the horrific testimonials on social media, migrants still take these routes. For some, they feel as if they have been pressed onto a pathway with no way to turn around. Others always see the grass as greener on the other side… and always imagine things will improve if they press forward. Others, like the woman with the hemorrhage, have spent all that they have, and all of their resources were consumed by those selling snake oil.

What all of these people really need is a touch from Jesus.

¹ Fabrizio Foschini, Keep on Moving on the Balkan Route: No Quarter for Afghan Asylum Seekers in Croatia and Serbia (Kabul: Afghanistan Analysts Network, 2023).

² Benjamin Bathke, "1,300 Migrant Smugglers Detained in 2022 at Evros River: Greek Government", Infomigrants https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/45963/1300-migrant-smugglers-detained-in-2022-at-evros-river-greek-government (accessed October 31, 2023). See also, AIDA, Country Report: Greece (Athens: Asylum Information Database, 2022), 19.

³ InfoMigrants, "More Deaths on Eastern Mediterranean Route to Greece", InfoMigrants https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/46216/more-deaths-on-eastern-mediterranean-route-to-greece#:~:text=The UN refugee agency said,as many as in 2021. (accessed October 31, 2023).

⁴ Yiannis Sakellis; Natalie Spyropoulou; Dimitris Ziomas, The Refugee Crisis in Greece in the Aftermath of the 20 March 2016 EU-Turkey Agreement (Geneva: European Commission, 2021).

⁵ Florian Schmitz, Alexia Kalaitzi, and Burcu Karakas, "Deep Pushbacks from Greece", Lighthouse Reports https://www.lighthousereports.com/investigation/pushbacks-chapter-one/ (accessed October 31, 2023). See also, Sarah Souli, "Greece’s ‘New Tactic’ of Migrant Expulsion from Deep Inside Its Land Borders", The New Humanitarian https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2020/10/07/Greece-migrant-pushbacks-expulsion-Evros-Turkey (accessed October 31, 2023).

⁶ Alessandra Taranitino, "Sailboats Packed with Migrants on Lesser-Known Migration Route", NPR https://www.npr.org/2021/11/22/1057886475/sailboats-packed-with-migrants-seek-italy-on-lesser-known-migration-route (accessed November 6, 2023).

⁷ Yiannis Papadopoulos, "Smugglers Perilous Route to Italy", Ekathimerini https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1191513/smugglers-perilous-route-to-italy/ (accessed October 31, 2023).