Group of Nearly 100 Migrants Found Naked Near the Border
(DailyVantage.com) – The conflict between Turkey and Greece began during the War of Independence in 1919 when the two sides fought each other. Since then, tensions have ebbed and flowed at different levels, but there’s always been an underlying current. Most recently, the neighboring nations have pointed fingers at each other after Greek authorities discovered approximately 92 naked men at their shared border.
Image Goes Viral on Social Media
This past Saturday, October 15, a photo of fully nude men made the rounds. Greece’s Migration Minister, Notis Mitarachi, shared the image, which showed the adults, some crouching down, holding their genitals. According to Mitarachi, Greek authorities rescued the migrants. He blamed Turkey and said he expects Ankara, Turkey’s capital city, to investigate and take action to protect its borders.
Greek officials are calling on the other country to enforce the 2016 EU-Turkey Migrant Deal, established following the 2015 economic crisis in Greece. The agreement, for which Turkey received billions of Euros in aid, outlined Ankara’s efforts to stem the flow of immigrants from its territory into Europe. Greece was also obligated to work on extending a wall along its northern border to help, but the effort recently hit funding snafus.
Turkey Denies Allegations
Turkey was quick to respond to the claims against it. Not only does President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s press aide Fahrettin Altun deny the accusations, but he also points the finger back at Greece. “The Greek machine of fake news is back at work,” he blasted in a series of tweets. He also slammed the rival country’s authorities for publishing the images online, failing to “respect the dignity of [the] oppressed.”
Migrant Origins?
According to reports, Turkish authorities forced the migrants to strip and board vehicles that took them to the border. An investigation by Frontex, an EU border agency, showed evidence that the men arrived via rubber dinghies on the Evros River. Authorities quickly provided medical care to the injured and clothes and food to all individuals.
The UN Refugee Agency has condemned the action, saying it’s “deeply distressed by the shocking reports and images.”
UNHCR is deeply distressed by the shocking reports and images of 92 people, who were reported to have been found at the Greek-Turkish land border, stripped of their clothes.
We condemn such cruel and degrading treatment and call for a full investigation into this incident.
— UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) October 16, 2022
At this point, the situation has escalated to nothing more than a blame game playing out on social media. Authorities are still investigating the incident, though we may never know where the immigrants came from and how they got there.
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