The situation of refugees trapped in the buffer zone over the past few months has become a special case both in the history of Cyprus and in the history of the European migration crisis.
What makes this case unique is the very presence of a buffer zone in an EU state and the length of time refugees stay there. Some of them have been living in the area between the two parts of the country since mid-May. Cyprus Mail reports on the situation.
The number of refugees in the buffer zone has increased
Much has changed since May. The number of refugees in the buffer zone increased from 37 to 60: 44 people live in the area of the village of Akaki, 16 people live in the buffer zone in Nicosia. Among them are citizens of Afghanistan, Iran, Nigeria and Somalia.
The tents are flooded with water. People are bothered by insects
The heat has subsided, but now because of the rains, tents are often flooded with water. Snakes have become less active, but mosquitoes and flies are now rampant.
Food for refugees is delivered by the Government of Cyprus instead of UNHCR.
The flow of refugees to Cyprus is decreasing
The flow of refugees to Cyprus has dropped to a minimum in recent months. In March, 1,177 arrivals were registered, in April - 1,123, in May - 219, and in June - 155. The government's migration policy has become stricter. This change has received official approval at the EU level. Ursula von der Leyen, speaking in Paphos in early October, congratulated Cyprus on its success in repatriating migrants to their homeland.
The contrast with the situation in 2015, when Germany accepted millions of refugees, is visible to the naked eye. This is another reason why people in the buffer zone can be considered a special case: they were on the front lines of a paradigm shift.
Police drove people back into the buffer zone
They arrived with completely different expectations. “We were told that the police would meet us because we were asylum seekers and take us to the Purnara camp. But in fact, events began to unfold differently. Circumstances arose that we did not expect,” says Afghan citizen Muhammad (names have been changed).
According to Muhammad, he, his sister and sister-in-law crossed the Green Line, that is, they entered government-controlled territory, declared that they were seeking refuge and asked local residents to call a taxi to Purnara. At that moment, the police arrived on the scene and drove them back into the buffer zone.
Cypriots support tightening immigration policy
However, Cyprus' new, tougher migration policies appear to be popular with the population. Most Cypriots, even if they agree that there is injustice in the plight of specific people, are generally unsympathetic towards asylum seekers. The two most popular reactions are: “They shouldn’t have come here illegally” and “Let them go back to Turkey/the occupied territories.”
A forced and extremely painful decision
“I tried everything possible to leave the country legally,” says another Afghan citizen named Essan. He and his family collaborated with the Americans during the US Army's presence in the country. After the Taliban returned, the visitor realized: he had to leave. He categorically denies that he became an economic migrant, claiming that he led a quite prosperous life in Afghanistan. Essan fled, fearing reprisals against those who collaborated with the American administration in Afghanistan.
Embassies ignored the request
The man applied to the Faculty of Business Administration at one of the British universities, he managed to successfully pass the interview and get a place in one of the large companies in Dubai. He also applied to public universities in Germany and received a positive response in March 2022. However, circumstances were stacked against him: his application for a UK student visa was rejected, the UAE government stopped issuing visas to Afghan citizens, and the German embassy did not respond to his email at all.
“I didn’t want to end up anywhere illegally,” he says. “There is nothing good about the way we came here.” We get free food, free housing and everything else. I feel extremely awkward in the position of a dependent. We worked all our lives, earning our bread by honest labor,” he says. Essan assures that even now he does not want any compensation, benefits or free housing. “I will earn everything myself. I just need to settle down somewhere peacefully,” he assures.
There are no asylum mechanisms in the TRNC
Sending these refugees to the occupied territories is not so easy. The quasi-state in northern Cyprus has no asylum mechanisms. On the contrary, if refugees are forcibly evicted to the “TRNC”, then from the point of view of the Turkish Cypriot “authorities”, they will be guilty of illegally crossing the “border”. This means that they will be prosecuted and almost certainly deported back to their country without an assessment of their international protection needs.
Turkey is not safe
Turkey, unlike a quasi-state, has an asylum system. However, this is not safe or reliable. There is no guarantee that Türkiye will accept this group of individuals back.
At the macro level, most of these asylum seekers are fleeing wars caused by Western intervention, or wars that use Western weapons, or both. At the micro level, these 60 people are experiencing physical and psychological stress. “We all have mental problems,” says Muhammad. His sister-in-law, a young woman who was studying to be a nurse, goes into the tent and takes out the medications the psychologist prescribed for her: diazepam for anxiety and the antidepressant escitalopram.
In statistical terms, this is a group of people trapped in the buffer zone, a tiny percentage of those unlucky enough to apply for refugee status. However, behind each of them there is a human story.
The text was prepared based on materials from the Cyprus Mail publication
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