In den frühen Morgenstunden am Dienstag, 10.06.2019, sind 7 Menschen bei dem Versuch, die griechische Insel Lesbos zu erreichen, ertrunken.

Seven asylum seekers have reportedly drowned while trying to reach the Greek island of Lesvos from Turkey’s shores after their boat sank while carrying more than 60 people.

ekathimerini │ 11.06.2019

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A boat carrying dozens of refugees and migrants to a Greek island from the nearby Turkish coast has capsized, leaving seven people dead, including two children.
Greece’s coastguard said 57 people had been rescued on Tuesday, while seven people – two girls, four women and a man – were pulled from the water unconscious and later confirmed dead.

Aljazeera │ 11.06.2019

Die Nationalitäten der Migrant*innen und Geflüchteten seien noch nicht geklärt, allerdings handele es sich vorwiegend um Afrikaner*innen, wie der Aegaen Boat Report auf facebook veröffentlicht.

This morning 07.00 Hellenic Coastguard was informed on a boat in distress outside Pamphila, a few kilometers north of Mytilíni. When rescue arrived 7 people was already dead, 57 people was rescued. What caused the accident is still unknown.
Nationality of the deceased is not revealed, but the 57 rescued was mostly Africans, many of them children.

Aegaen Boat Report │ 11.06.2019

Darauf, dass die Türkei für afrikanische Migrant*innen und Geflüchtete eine Station auf der Migrationsroute nach Europa oder Nordamerika sei, verweist Ahval vom 10.06.2019. Der Artikel macht zugleich auf die prekären Lebensbedingungen von afrikanischen Migrant*innen aufmerksam. Da die Türkei nur Durchgangsland auf der intendierten Migration nach Europa oder Nordamerika sei und die Weiterreise teuer sei, seien die Migrant*innen gezwungen, temporär in der Türkei zu bleiben, wo sie ohne Krankenversicherung in 10 bis 15-Stunden-Schichten in Textilwerkstätten arbeiten oder sich mit Gelegenheitsverkäufen über Wasser zu halten versuchen.

The sprawling Turkish metropolis of Istanbul has been host to a growing community of African migrants in recent years, most of whom arrive hoping to travel to western Europe, but find themselves trapped and forced to find desperate ways to survive. Turkey already hosts some 3.6 million Syrian refugees, along with large communities of Afghans, Pakistanis and Iraqis, but there are others from a string of African nations who have ended up in the country as an alternative to the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean. […]

African immigrants usually live around Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district, staying four or five people in one-room flats.
They mostly work in textile workshops in the Bayrampaşa, Esenler, Bağcılar and Esenyurt districts with no insurance in 10 to 15-hour shifts. Some others try to make a living by selling watches, wallets, or belts. Those working in textile workshops earn around 1,100 lira ($188) a month and usually send a part of their income to their families back home.

Ahval │ 10.06.2019

Einen tieferen Einblick in die zahlreichen afrikanischen Communities in Istanbul bietet der Fotoband “Cabuk Cabuk: Africans in Istanbul”, der in einem Beitrag von Paul Benjamin Osterlund auf Al Monitor vorgestellt wird:

In Istanbul’s Kumkapi neighborhood, where rows of weary historic buildings face the Marmara Sea, signs of the city’s African communities are around every corner. A Nigerian restaurant here, an Ethiopian hairdresser there. Across town in the quarter of Ferikoy, soccer squads consisting of African players duke it out on a large pitch framed by a skyline of skyscrapers. Nearby in the Kurtulus neighborhood, an evangelical Christian church with an African congregation is tucked into a apartment building and only noticeable because of its sign.
Istanbul is home to as many as 150,000 people hailing from a number of African countries who have established communities throughout the city. However, they remain among the most disenfranchised groups in Istanbul, and are frequently associated with selling watches on the street.

Al Monitor | 26.05.2019

Auch wenn die Zahl der Migrant*innen, die die Europäische Union mit dem Boot aus der Türkei zu erreichen versuchen, seit 2015 kleiner geworden ist, auch auf die Existenz des EU-Türkei-Abkommens und illegale Push-Backs der türkischen Küstenwache zurückzuführen, wagen immer wieder Menschen die gefährliche Überfahrt.

The number of people heading to the Greek islands from the nearby Turkish coast has decreased significantly since the height of the refugee crisis in 2015, dropping from 875,000 in 2015 to under 40,000 a year in 2017 and 2018, according to Frontex, the European Union’s border force.

However, hundreds of people continue to make the treacherous journey.

Although the distance from Turkey is short, smugglers often use unseaworthy boats and pack them way beyond capacity, leading to many sinking or capsizing.
Nearly 10,700 refugees and migrants have reached Greece so far this year by sea, and 39 people have lost their lives while attempting the journey, the UNHCR said.
The influx of migrants and refugees to Greece was drastically curtailed by a 2016 accord between Turkey and the EU.

Aljazeera │ 11.06.2019

Türkei/Griechenland: 7 Tote bei Bootspassage