" We were in the middle of two countries, on the border. No one could help us in any way. And at that moment, I realized that we were not invited and no longer wanted in this world.”
Burak, Lawyer
" They made us all kneel down, tied our hands behind and lowered our heads forcefully. They were pushing and shoving us and hitting some with their feet.”
Hulya, Teacher
“I had a 1-month-old daughter and a postpartum wife who had just given birth. They needed me so much. It would be very luxurious even pertly for me to collapse psychologically in this state”
Isa, Bureaucrat
“I prayed so much between the time that the van moved and stopped, not to be pushed back... When I was that close to my family, the thought of being pushed back and being forced to turn back to a place where I experience social oppression, torture and persecution on a daily basis fell on me as if I was not sitting in the dark van, but I was lying in the grave with my lifeless body, on which earth has been thrown already”
Isa, Bureaucrat
“Then they put us on the boat by force. While doing that, they also pushed and kicked. We received many blows and strikes to the head and back. We did not raise our voices in any way. We were already afraid, and we were utterly helpless”
Burak, Lawyer
“The man with a mask started to threaten us from the first moment he saw us. “If,” he said, “you speak up, I will kill you. If you come back, I will kill you. I’ll kill you if you lift your head. That country over there is Turkey, your country! This is Greece, our country! We don’t want you here”
Burak, Lawyer
“It was freezing that night. We were in a forest. We had to sleep on the moist stone and soil. I couldn’t sleep that night. I thought for a second that I would freeze at one point and could not make it until the morning. My mother was always by my side and was telling me to lean on her”
Camila, Nurse
“Prayers were like an anthem on my lips. I was walking and running. Don’t look back, my father said. We were running. Praying and praying... They (Gendarmery) held lanterns behind us, waiting for us to stop. They fired one shot. They thought it would scare us and make us turn back. We didn’t listen. We were only running to the car, saying, ‘God, do not let us fall into the hands of the cruel”
Camila, Nurse
“During my time in prison, my 6-week pregnancy ended in miscarriage under prison conditions. Later, during my other pregnancy, a re-arrest warrant was issued for my husband, and he had to leave the country. Unfortunately, due to the stress experienced, this pregnancy also resulted in a miscarriage. After all these, we were illegally pushed back while trying to take refuge in Greece, an EU country, by risking our lives to escape the persecution and genocide in our own country.”
Hulya, Teacher
“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are”
Benjamin Franklin
“Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do”