Turkey on an agreement with the European Union on Monday, arrested 3 people smugglers with 1300 migrants from Turkey to Greece in a single operation. The migrants belonging to Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran were seized on the Turkish countryside near Ayvacik a town that lies north of the Greek island of Lesbos. According to reports by the UN about 425,000 refugees arrived in Lesbos via smuggling boats and another 300,000 refugees reached other Greek islands from Turkey. This led to the European Union blaming Turkey for poor police control on its borders. This arrest made by Turkish officials is probably one of the largest single mass arrests of migrants made in recent months.
In return for Turkish cooperation, the European Union has offered $3.2 billion dollars as aid for about 2.2 million Syrian refugees in Turkey. The agreement made by the EU and Turkish government also suggests that Turkish citizens may be allowed to travel visa-free in Europe as early as October 2016. In separate operations, Turkey said it has arrested nearly 80,000 migrants since 2014 along with 200 major smugglers. Recent Guardian highlighted the lack of police patrolling in certain areas from where the smugglers help migrants leave for the Greek islands. It has also reported that the smugglers conduct their business not very far from police facilities. While EU makes stricter measures to curb the flow of refugees into Europe there are those who are concerned for the migrants who will be forced to try dangerous and more expensive measures.
Smugglers say that it will never be possible to curb the large inflow of refugees. Turkey has about 2.2 million Syrian refugees without a legal work permit. These workers are being exploited by employers and it is quite apparent that they will try to find their way out to Europe to earn lives of dignity.
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