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Refugees make risky journeys from Iran across Turkey

Thousands of people are fleeing conflict, violence, and poverty to make the risky journey across the Iran-Turkey border.

An Afghan family rests in an abandoned shepherd's house near the Turkish city of Van after crossing the Iran-Turkey border. [Sedat Suna/EPA]
Published On 6 Jul 2021

The crossings along the mountainous 540km (335 mile)-border between Turkey and Iran are protected by a concrete wall, a barbed-wire-topped barrier that stretches for 140km (87 miles).

But that does little to stop thousands of mostly young people fleeing from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran every year to leave conflict, violence, and despair behind in search for a better life.

According to the Turkish Ministry of Interior General Directorate of Migration Management, some 53,176 migrants have been stopped so far this year until 16 June. The figure is half of the 122,302 registered last year and a major drop from the 454,662 migrants stopped in 2019.

In the last 10 years, Turkey has become one of the most important countries on the migrants’ route to Europe.

Most of the migrants flee their countries for similar reasons.

For Afghans and Pakistanis, war and violence force them from their homelands.

For Iranians, they hit the road to Turkey – their main access point to Europe – dreaming of better economic opportunities and escaping the oppressive government in Tehran.

But the route is fraught with peril and risk, with many joining the growing list of victims of human trafficking in the region.

A group of Afghans and Pakistanis rest under a bridge near the railway in Van city. People entering illegally in Turkey wait for days to be contacted by smugglers to be transferred to the next city. [Sedat Suna/EPA]
Ahmed, third right, from Afghanistan and his friends walk on a highway as they come from Van city after crossing the Iran-Turkey border near Tatvan district in Bitlis city, eastern province of Turkey. 'I am a Turkmen from Afghanistan. A month ago, we started our journey in Afghanistan through Iran and from there to Turkey. I want to go to Ankara. I will work there. I will send money to my hometown,' said Ahmed. [Sedat Suna/EPA]
A Turkish-Iranian border guard tower is seen near Gurbulak Border gate in Dogubeyazit district in Agri city, eastern Turkey. The crossings along the border between Turkey and Iran are protected by a 144km (90 mile) concrete wall, a barbed-wire-topped barrier that still cannot stop hundreds of people fleeing from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran every year to leave conflict, violence, and despair behind in search for a better life. [Sedat Suna/EPA]
A group of Afghan refugees next to the railway near Van city. [Sedat Suna/EPA]
A group of people rest under a bridge near the railway in Van. They arrived at the Turkish border after walking in the rugged Iranian mountains for days. [Sedat Suna/EPA]
An Afghan boy hides inside a sewer pipe made of concrete next to a railway near Van. [Sedat Suna/EPA]
A group of people that crossed the Iran-Turkey border near Tatvan district in Bitlis, sit around a bonfire near the city of Van. [Sedat Suna/EPA]
An Iranian man shaves in front of a picture of the Al-Aqsa Mosque near a train station in Bitlis, eastern Turkey. [Sedat Suna/EPA]
People sleep in an abandoned vehicle in Van city. [Sedat Suna/EPA]
An Afghan girl at a food distribution point in Diyarbakir, around 900km (560 miles) east of Ankara. Diyarbakir is the largest city in the southeastern region of Turkey. [Sedat Suna/EPA]
Gravestones of refugees who died crossing the Turkish-Iranian border stand at the 'unidentified' cemetery in Van. [Sedat Suna/EPA]