JINHA

İSTANBUL - As politicians say, "We are working for an honor life for the refugees" from their seats, the refugees have fought for life in the back streets of Taksim.

The deal, which signed between the European Union and Turkey for "refugees, has taken effect. After the deal took effect, President Recep Tayip Erdoğan said, "Turkey didn't accept the offer of EU for money, Turkey accepted the offer to prevent the insulation of the refugees at the borders." Afqhan Meria Azemi, who had gone to Lesbon Island from Turkey with her five children, was told that she had to go back to Turkey after the deal took effect. Meria said, "No! No! No! Please don't! Not to Turkey. I would rather die here than go back." Her words were come to mind the questions about Turkey's approach towards the refugees… Well, do the refugees live an honor life as President Erdoğan said?

Three women, two children and a baby were in a street between İstiklal and Cihangir Avenues. It was perishing cold. From same family, Meryem Ado and Ayşe Ado had come to Diyarbakır and then Istanbul after civil war broke out in Syria.

They answered all our questions. However, they didn't want to take their photos. They said, "If the municipality officials see our photos, they will send us to the camps." Ayşe said that the funds received from the EU for migrants and the state's camps aren't solutions for them. Ayşe said they don't have the refugee status in Turkey and they have to be invisible to live in Turkey.

Meryem asked, "Do you think we are happy to come and live here with our children?" She began to tell us their story from Syria to Istanbul. "We left Syria three years ago. First we had gone to Diyarbakır and we had stayed there three mounths then we came to Istanbul. We had to leave everything in Syria and come here. After the war broke out in Diyarbakır, we had to come here. We have experienced migration in immigration."

Two women said, "We cannot take our children to hospital when they get sick. We pay 1000 lira for rent. We have to pay the bills. Our husbands collect papers, plastics and waste stuffs. We earn 40-50 lira each day. We ask help in the streets. Sometime, we have to return home without money. Most, we have to leave the table as hungry."

We ask them why they don't want to return the camps which are praised by the government. "Some people were sent to the camps. The camps are very bad. You have to stay with many people in the same place. You cannot sleep at nights. Women have faced tobe harassed there. Everyone has to take shower in the same place. They give only a piece of bread. The children go hungry." said women.

When we talked to women about the people's behaviours against them, they said, "Turkish and Kurdish people don't want us here. They want us to leave here. The municipality takes our money which we earned. Our children are scared. Imagine that one person comes and take you in a car. We have lived with this fear."

(ce-öç/ck/dk/gd)