In the border territories of Turkey, fleeing Afghans receive a welcoming frost

VAN, Turkey, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Ramazan Baran waits in front of a tea house in eastern Van province of Turkey from early in the morning until dusk to find work in the construction, but says it has been losing out to Afghan migrants willing to work for less money.

“We sit in this tea house all day. We come here from 6 to 8 and we can’t find work,” said Baran, 63.

About 15 more men sitting with him faced the same difficulty, he said. “Migrants have not left us a job. We cannot leave. Our people are hungry.”

As Turkey prepares for a possible influx of refugees fleeing Afghanistan after the Taliban’s acquisition, concerns about the potential impact grow, fueled by intense resentment by refugees already in the country.

Turkey hosts 3.7 million Syrians, the world’s largest refugee population, and mood has worsened in recent weeks, as videos on social media that allegedly showed Afghans entering by hundreds without obstacles provoked outrage.

Officials say about 300,000 Afghans are also currently in Turkey, some of whom have been there for several years. They include about 120,000 unregistered people, although the opposition says the number is much higher. The tombstones of those who have died after crossing the border disperse a cemetery in the city.

While President Tayyip Erdogan and his AK party have defended the acceptance of millions of Syrians fleeing the conflict in their country, they have said a new wave would not be welcome.

“Turkey … cannot bear another migratory burden derived from Syria or Afghanistan,” Erdogan said Wednesday. He also warned EU leaders that Turkey will not be a “migrant storage unit” for Afghans trying to reach Europe.

More Afghans are already arriving. Officials have not given details of how many a day, but say they have not yet seen signs of a significant increase since the Taliban victory, although long distances across Iran can make immigrants take weeks. to arrive.

Baran was one of Van’s twenty people who said Turkey should stop accepting migrants and send people back to the country.

In the capital Ankara this month, a crowd of Turks attacked Syrian shops and homes following a fight that resulted in a young Turk being stabbed to death. Read more

Most who spoke to Reuters in Van said migrants were hurting the economy, while locals have to deal with inflation and unemployment in double digits.

“GO ELSEWHERE”

Authorities have tightened the border with Iran to keep Afghan migrants out, but some are still escaping. read more Police have also arrested thousands of Afghan immigrants who were already in the country in recent weeks.

They are being taken to repatriation centers, but are currently not being returned due to the turmoil in Afghanistan.

“If the government took the necessary steps, there would be no migration,” said Mehmet Serif Karatas, 54, speaking outside a textile store in Van, a transit point for most Afghans crossing Turkey.

Opposition parties have also criticized Erdogan’s administration for failing to secure the border. Last week, the main Republican opposition People’s Party (CHP) placed giant banners on its buildings and said “Border is honor.”

CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said the West could try to make a new deal with Turkey in exchange for money, similar to Turkey’s 2016 deal with the European Union to curb the flow of migrants to Europe in change of billions of euros for refugee projects.

“How come … thousands of Afghans crossed the border and came to Turkey, and who allowed it? We have to blame those who allow it,” Kilicdaroglu said on Wednesday. “They do it for money.”

Selami Kiye, a 48-year-old shopkeeper at Van’s Russian bazaar, said Europe or other countries should welcome migrants. “Let them go somewhere else. We don’t care,” Kiye said.

Ali Kucukgocmen Reports; Editing by Dominic Evans and Alison Williams

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