VAN - Refugees who have migrated from Iran to Van die at the border either by freezing or starvation. Some refugees who managed to cross the border lose their hands and feet due to the cold. Our agency photographed the refugees who were able to survive and wait for the hands and toes to be amputated in the hospital.
The drama of refugees reaching to Turkey from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran deepens during winter. Many of the refugees who crosses from Iran to Başkale, Çaldıran and Özalp districts of Turkey lose their lives on the border line every year either by freezing or starvation. Some refugees who managed to cross the border lose their hands and feet due to the cold. The bodies of most refugees who have lost their lives at the border either comes into the day light with the melting of the snow or cannot be found at all. Refugees are faced with heavy snow and storm as the also fall into the network of human traffickers on the road, which they set off as “journey to hope”.
A NEW TRAGUE EVERY DAY
What happened at the border for the past week is also a summary of what refugees experience. The day before, an Afghan immigrant who survived in the same group as 13 immigrants who were estimated to have died frozen in Çaldıran, said, "we have a group of 300 people from Iran but we have lost 40 friends in front of our eyes". While 40 refugees, estimated to have died on the border line where the storm continues, cannot be reached, the fact that human fugitives demand money from families who demand to find the deceased bodies shows the collapse of the conscience.
The Mesopotamian Agency (MA) has photographed refugees who had survived through all the dangers in the borderline, but now facing the amputation of their hands and feet in a variety of hospitals in Van.
KEEPED TO AN UNKNOWN ROUTE WITH CHILDREN
What happened to a group of 10 refugees, 5 of which are from Pakistan and the other 5 of which is from Afghanistan, reveals the terrifying magnitued of refugee drama. Afghan family with three children aged between 3 and 5, is left to the border of Van by traffickers. The family, who does not know where they are and where to go because of the snow and snowstorm continues through an unknown route with their children. Reaching a village at the border after hours of traveling, the family is saved from a death by getting frozen in the last minute. The members of the family, who are sent to the hospital with the help of the citizens in the village, are treated immediately. While a nerve injury and burn occurs in the fingers of the children due to the cold they were exposed to, one child carries life risk. While the mother is treated, deep burns occurred in the father's fingers and toes due to cold.
PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE PAIN AND TRAGEDY...
Again, 2 young Pakistani who arrived in Van from a different point on the same day rached to the borderline themselves and lsoe their way. Two younkers walking for a total of 45 hours reach a highway. They begins to wait on the highway hugging each other, almost waiting for the death. When they are about to freeze, a village van passes by the highway and takes them to the hospital. Serious damage is observed on their fingers and toes as their treatment at the hospital begins. After the examinations, it is determined that 2 young Pakistani's fingers have completely lost their functions and their fingers must be amputated. 2 refugees are waiting for surgery.
FINGERS AND TOES WILL BE AMPUTATED
Another young Afghan man, who was left to the Çaldıran border line by human traffickers like his other friends, reached a village after walking for hours in te extreme cold and he was saved at the last moment from freezing. The refugee young man, whose fingers and toes froze, is delivered to the hospital with the help of the villagers. Both fingers of the refugee teenager will be amputated. He will also experience a long-term treatment process due to burns on the toes.
MA / Adnan Bilen