As the US continues withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan, and the Taliban increases its control in the country, around 1,000 Afghans have been arriving to Turkey’s eastern border with Iran every day.
According to an aid provider for refugees in Eastern Turkey who wishes to remain anonymous, local authorities are exposing the arriving migrants to harsh controls as they struggle to process all those in need of safety. To avoid detection by state authorities and potential mistreatment, many migrants must rely on smugglers and use dangerous routes that can sometimes end in death.
When walking in the Seyrantepe cemetery in Van, in eastern Turkey, one might stumble across a large area at the end, lined with headstones without names. The gravestones are marked either by numbers or nationalities. Most are Afghans who tried to cross from Iran to Turkey before attempting to travel to Istanbul and finally to the European Union.
