Friday, May 22, 2015

"Nightly fight for life and death on the Aegean Sea" - 46 dramatic photos taken between Turkey and Greece

When we lived in Istanbul, we constantly heard of dangerous attempts made by refugees to leave Turkey and get to Greece, where they would be "protected" by the European Union. These refugees came from / come from about 65 nations, some of which are "failed states".

Every night, attempts are made by groups of 20 - 150, some in dinghies, some in old, leaky ships, to navigate the waters between Turkey and Greece. Their hope is to leave Turkey at night and claim refugee status in Greece the next day. At one point, the distance is only 2 miles from the Turkish main land to one of the hundreds of Greek islands.

Turkey has captured more than 1,000 smugglers in the last several years, a remarkable figure and one that should be more widely publicized.

In the world wide explosion of the number of refugees, this is an emotional story.

For 46 photos, click here.

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