“When he reached Adana, he was captured, threatened with weapons and forced to sign a voluntary return. He was sent to Idlib”
The respondent left Syria and entered Turkey through the Turkish town of khirbat al jouz. When they reached Adana, he was captured, threatened with weapons and forced to sign a voluntary return. He was sent to Idlib and captured by a militant group for four days. After his release, the respondent once again entered Turkey, this time making it to Istanbul. The respondent attempted to go to Greece with a group of men but they were intercepted by a ‘gang’ who took their money and phones.
In March, the respondent left Damascus towards Lebanon. He went to Lebanon to get a stamp to say he had left legally, to avoid charges of being smuggled. When the respondent entered Lebanon, he was taken to Tripoli, then to Wadi Khaled, and then back to Idlib to a town called khirbat al jouz. On the second day, he began his journey, walking for 20 hours to a place called Antakya..
A large bus arrived with 22 people inside. Approximately 70 kilometers from Edirne, they were stopped by traffic police and asked for a Kimlic. Then, the traffic police called border guards who took them to Hatay (a police station near the Syrian border). From here, they were pushed back across the border crossing Bab El hawa and forced to sign a voluntary return. From here, they were sent to Idlib and the respondent was captured by the Al Nursa Front and held captive for four days. He was interrogated and let go when the respondent was able to prove they were a Syrian citizen and had no ties to the military.
Before leaving Syria, the respondent organised parties for children. He had worked for the Syrian Arab Red Cresent. On the respondents second attempt to get to Greece, He made it to Istanbul. He stated he cannot claim asylum in Turkey as they had taken away their right to have a kimlic. If he were to be caught again, he would be sent back to Idlib. When he tried to leave Turkey, he was with four other people. The respondent didn’t have enough finances to pay for a smuggler. They made it to the river close to Ipsala. Here, they were intercepted by a ‘gang’ who had knives and pistols. They spoke Turkish and a little Greek and English. They searched them, took their phones and money. The respondent and the rest of his group couldn’t continue on their journey as they had been relying on GSP on their phones. They returned to Istanbul.
The respondent stated that when he was intercepted by the gang, he was afraid to call the police because ‘I knew if I called the police patrol they would send me back to Idlib’. In Turkey, the respondent met with an NGO who told them there was a 59 percent chance of removing their fingerprints from the voluntary return forms they had been forced to sign. However, if unsuccessful, he would be sent back to Idlib. The respondent decided not to take the risk, saying that ‘honestly i wish for death more than going back to Idlib'