Migrant Smuggling Data and Research

Regarding mixed survey methods using quantitative and qualitative data
on migrant exploitation, abuse and/or deaths, survey or other data on migrants’
views on smuggling, there are reports released by certain NGOs and international
NGOs: Amnesty International (2015), Human Rights Watch (2008), Helsinki
Citizens’ Assembly (2007), GLOBAL: Policy and Strategy think-tank (2015), and the
Association for Solidarity with Refugees (Mülteci-Der) (2007). As far as the policy
utility of the research on irregular migrant and smuggling, it can be concluded
that although those conducted for international organizations and compiled by
NGOs and international NGOs include some policy recommendations, related
academic research has almost never been policy-oriented.
CASE STUDY: Smuggling Syrians from Turkey to Greece
The massive exodus of Syrian refugees creates a grave migrant smuggling problem spanning
from the Middle East and Turkey to Europe and even further. The Syrian civil war is,
unfortunately, in its fifth year and does not look to end anytime soon. Even as this chapter on
Turkey is being written, more than 100,000 Syrians from Aleppo are at the doors of Turkey. It is
expected that this would create a significant spillover effect on Europe and other destination
countries as well. Here is one case of a Syrian family who was smuggled from Turkey to a Greek
island:
Aziz and his family are from Homs, Syrian Arab Republic. Due to the civil war and escalating
violence, they left their country in 2013 and came to Turkey. They belong to the majority of
Syrians who were not settled in refugee camps. They got temporary refugee status in Turkey.
After staying a short while with friends in Gaziantep not far from the Syrian border, they found
accommodation near Aksaray, Istanbul. Soon enough, they realized they were going to stay
in Turkey much longer than they expected. However, when their savings ran out, as Istanbul
is very expensive, Aziz found a job in the informal economy with the help of another Syrian
refugee. By the end of 2014, he made up his mind to go to Greece with human smugglers
and then to Germany to start a new life. He heard many stories from his friends who took the
land route to Greece and Bulgaria and knew it was a difficult journey to cross the Evros River
that involves lots of walking at night and hiding during the day. With two small children, he
decided to take the shorter and cheaper sea route instead, despite the perils involved. The
first smuggler ran off with the money. So, the second time, they wanted to find a “trusted”
smuggler and contacted one Syrian national with good reputation in social media. The use of
social media – such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Viber – is quite common among the migrants
in Turkey who would like to use the service provided by human smugglers. In the spring of
2015, the smuggler took him and his family to Izmir by bus. There were many others with
them in the bus, including a Bangladeshi refugee (possibly a Rohingya), two Iraqis, some other
Syrians, and an Afghan family. The Afghans tried to cross the Aegean twice on their own with
no success. First, their boat was caught by the Turkish Coast Guard and confiscated. Then,
the second time, they could not inflate the boat they purchased from the local market. They
changed places regularly and were told to be ready to leave anytime. Since it is not the high
season, they were asked to pay USD 1,400 for the two of them. The children would travel free.
During the summer months when the sea is calmer, the prices soar greatly and go up as high as
USD 1,500 per person. Refugees and asylum seekers from the Syrian Arab Republic spend large
sums of money and are desperate to take the risks to reach Europe. He understood that this
Syrian smuggler – a refugee himself with good command of Turkish as far as he could tell – was
only an intermediary and in communication with others involved in the smuggling business.
Aziz gave half of this money in Istanbul to the Syrian intermediary, and the rest was deposited
to an office called Secure Your Money along with a password. They were then transferred
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6. Turkey