DW News published this video item, entitled “Turkey’s ‘cemetery of the nameless’ filled with Afghan asylum seekers | DW News” – below is their description.
Turkey is currently hosting more than four-million refugees from the Middle East. Numbers surged during Syria’s civil war which began ten years ago. But most of the refugees and migrants trying to get to Europe from Turkey today are not Syrians – but Afghans. Driven by worsening conflict in their country, the number of Afghans apprehended by Turkish authorities for irregularly entering Turkey via Iran increased from 31,000 in 2016 to more than 200,000 in 2019. The coronavirus pandemic has slowed down, but not stopped the influx. The Turkish government is building a massive wall on its border with Iran to prevent irregular migration. But with people smugglers trying to find new routes into Turkey, the journey has become more dangerous – even deadly. A cemetery in the eastern Turkish city of Van bears witness to this tragedy. More than 200 asylum seekers who died somewhere along the way are buried here. With no names at all. Destined to be forgotten. Our correspondent Julia Hahn reports from eastern Turkey.
DW News YouTube Channel
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