IN A run-down building in the Tarlabasi district of Istanbul, 24-year-old Zehra, a refugee from Aleppo, lives in a tiny apartment with her husband, mother-in-law, and children. Her youngest, a little girl, was born just a month ago in a Turkish hospital—one of 70,000 Syrian babies born in Turkey since the civil war started in 2011, according to refugee agencies. She faces a precarious future. Zehra says they have received no government aid, and her husband can find only occasional work as a rubbish collector. Few Syrian children attend Turkish schools; instead they roam the streets of Turkish cities selling water or tissues. No wonder so many Syrians brave the short ocean crossing to Greece, hoping for a new life in Europe. Some 100,000 migrants made the journey in November, following on from over 200,000 in October.
At a summit in Brussels on November 29th, the European Union finalised an agreement with Turkey to try to reduce the flow. But the deal looks nearly as patchy as the dinghies migrants are crossing in. The Europeans set aside their worries about the growing authoritarianism of Turkey’s government and promised €3 billion ($3.2...Continue reading
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