Translation of the map and video given by Erdogan to the Syrian migrants
Earlier today, a picture was shared of a map claimed to be given by the Turkish government to Syrian migrants, to show them how they could go to European cities.
I wanted to see if that was true, so I found the original tweets, and I can confirm this is more or less the case.
There have been a series of 3 tweets by the account of "TRT Arabi"c, the international Arabic version of Turkey's public TV network (TRT).
In the first tweet, there are pictures of migrants at the border between Turkey and Greece, and a comment in Arabic:
"Greek security launches tear gas and sound bombs against irregular migrants in the buffer zone with #Turkey, which resulted in the injury of a number of them"
https://twitter.com/TRTArabi/status/1233427159378776064
In the second tweet, there is the map, with the following comment:
"The road to #France .. An illustrative map of the possible paths that refugees from #Turkey can take to reach France and other European countries"
https://twitter.com/TRTArabi/status/1233429222309363713
In the third tweet, there is a video which is a slide-show of statements in Arabic, with the following comment:
"Migrants flock to #Edirne Turkish, heading to #Europe, and Turkey says it will not hinder the transit of migrants to the old continent, so what is the fate of the refugee file amid the exacerbation of the crisis in #Idlib?"
https://twitter.com/TRTArabi/status/1233661876137058306
I OCRed the text in the map and the slides of the video, and translated them with google.
Analysis of the content:
These tweets are not in Turkish, they are in Arabic, so they are probably aimed at the Syrian.
The second tweet is kind of explicit about being a guide to go through Europe, showing many possibilities by land and by sea.
In the video, the Turkish government present itself as having "done all it can do", and "forced to release all the migrants if it is not provided with more resources".
Combined with the map, it sorts of tell to the Syrian: "sorry, we have spent billions already, we cannot welcome you. However, we will not block you at the border, and here is a map to give you an idea of how to reach cities in Europe".
And in the tweets, they use hash-tags for #France, #Europe, #Turkey, #Edirne and #Idlib in Arabic. I guess it's to make those tweets easier to find for the Syrians.
So Erdogan gave a guide and an OK to go to Europe through Turkey, hinting to Europeans "If I don’t get money, look at the first pictures, they are coming".
France is particularly put on the spot.
Translation of the map in the attached picture.
Translation of the text shown in the video:
"
On the way to Europe
Migrants flock to the Turkish border city of Edirne with Greece, heading to Europe, and Turkey say they will not hinder the crossing of migrants towards Europe.
What is the story?
A new displacement crisis triggered by the conflict in Idlib
Turkey will not be the destination and the wave of asylum will reach Europe.
Source: Yeni Safak Turkish newspaper
Official Turkish responses bring to the fore the Syrian refugee dossier.
"The displacement of hundreds of thousands in the Idlib governorate towards the border with Turkey, the burdens they bear and the situation worsens will increase the flow of migrants to Europe".
Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Protector
"Turkey's refugee policy has not changed, but it is now not in a position to control refugees."
Omar Glick, Justice and Development Party spokesman
February 28, 2020
How did the displacement crisis erupt?
Idlib's population reached approximately 165,000 people before the revolution in 2011, and with the increase in displacement due to the bombing, the number increased to more than 3 million.
4 million Syrians have sought refuge in Turkey since the beginning of the war. Turkey provided them with humanitarian, health and educational services at a cost that exceeded $ 40 billion.
It did not stop there.
The crisis has worsened since the beginning of the regime's attack on Idlib in January 2020. More than a million civilians were displaced at the time to the Turkish border.
As the offensive continues, the number of displaced people is expected to reach 3 million.
In addition to all this, the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey is expected to reach 8 million if the regime controls the entire Idlib.
This is something that Turkey has repeatedly warned against.
"We will continue to host our guests (the Syrians) whether we receive support or not, but we will have to open our doors (towards Europe) if it does not go well."
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President
November 7, 2019
Is there a final solution to the refugee file?
"