The story of the bodies discovered on the Iran-Türkiye border
Turkish media reported that bodies, most of which are unidentified, have been discovered in the country's border areas with Iran. According to local officials and migration experts, the bodies belong to illegal Iranian and Afghan migrants.
Turkey's Anadolu Agency reported on Tuesday, April 30, that two bodies were discovered in the border areas of Turkey's Van province near Iran. Turkish gendarmerie forces in the Başqala district of Van province have transferred the bodies, which belonged to two illegal immigrants, to the Van provincial forensic medicine.
The agency previously reported the discovery of six bodies two kilometers from the Goluk border post between Turkey and Iran. Anadolu concluded its report by saying that the bodies of nine other men had previously been discovered in the area.
Turkish media did not mention the identities of the bodies discovered, but wrote that the bodies were discovered in April.
Dr. Zakira Hekmat, a defender of the rights of Afghan refugees in Turkey and a founding member of the "Association for Solidarity and Sympathy with Afghan Refugees," told DW Persian about the discovered bodies that they belonged to Afghan and Iranian citizens who had illegally immigrated to Turkey.
The main office of the Association for Solidarity and Sympathy with Afghan Refugees is in the city of Kayseri, Türkiye, and has representatives in 65 cities in Türkiye.
Ms. Hekmat continued her speech, emphasizing: "The incident of discovering bodies has happened before and we witness this every year. When refugees illegally try to enter Turkey, they have to cross the borders of the mountainous regions of Turkey. When the migrants travel this route on foot, they encounter problems and some of them get stuck under several meters of snow and freeze to death from the extreme cold. The bodies are covered in snow, but later, when the snow melts, the local people discover the smell of the bodies and inform the gendarmerie."
According to Zakira Hekmat, the number of bodies discovered in April of this year was higher than in previous years.
Regarding the identities of the bodies discovered, Ms. Hekmat said: "Unfortunately, most of the bodies discovered are unidentifiable. These people do not have birth certificates or identity cards. But we know that there are Iranians among the bodies discovered, and most of these people are Afghan refugees, because Afghan refugees choose the illegal route, but Iranians can enter Turkey legally without a visa."
"Families from Afghanistan contact their association and consult about receiving the bodies. The survivors transport the bodies to their country at their own expense," Hekmat told DW Persian.
According to Zakira Hekmat, conditions inside Afghanistan have become difficult and people have no hope for the future and are migrating. This refugee rights advocate in Turkey emphasized: "Human traffickers also give migrants false information. For example, when these people enter Turkey, they contact our association and ask about the car and house that the traffickers promised them."
Source: DW
