Syria refugees stranded at border half-way point

TURKEY: Terrorised by shelling and air strikes, tens of thousands of Syrians have packed up and crossed the border to Turkey, but some have also been forced to take refuge at the actual crossing.

Hundreds of people are stranded in what was once a bus station on the Syrian side of the Bab al-Salama crossing. Just across the border on the Turkish side, their compatriots are living in a massive refugee camp, complete with tents, satellite dishes and a mosque.

But the camp is now full, and those without a passport and the means to pay their own way in Turkey have found the border crossing bus station is the farthest from the fighting that they can get.

Ali, 34, brought his family from nearby Aazaz five days ago. His three children, aged two, five and seven, play near their father on a mat laid on the pavement where travellers once waited for shuttle buses.

“We came because of the shelling. At first it was bearable, it was fairly light, but after the air strike that demolished several homes I started to change my mind,” he said.

His mother, 55-year-old Umm Hassan, her blue eyes wide with anger, described seemingly endless sleepless nights.

“We are not the Free Syrian Army, we are regular citizens who have children and wanted to live in peace,” she said.

“We used to hold our children up to the sky to show we are civilians, but the shelling never seemed to stop.” Since the family arrived, they have been trying to find a way across the border, but they do not have passports and have been told that formal refugee camps are full and they will have to wait for more space to open up.

Even in the relative safety of the border Ali feels uncomfortable, worried that the makeshift camp will eventually be targeted by the regime.

“We are waiting for anyone who can get us out of here, to anywhere at all.” Mahmud Khalaf, from the village of Haritan near Aleppo, is sitting nearby on a chequered blanket.

His wife rocks her weeks-old baby in a crib with one hand while she bounces two-year-old Mohammed on her knee.

They arrived a week earlier and have no idea when they might be able to move to a proper camp.

The refugees feel abandoned “We just want someone to tell us when we will be able to leave,” Khalaf said. “We brought nappies and some baby milk from home, but we are starting to run out, and we don’t know where we’ll get more from.”

The rebel forces who control the Syrian side of the border oversee the area informally, ensuring that theft and assault are not a problem for now.

AFP