Large numbers of migrants and refugees have begun organising in Turkey to seek travel to Europe, Jerusalem Post reported on Friday.
The group, with more than 16,000 reported members, comprises of Syrians and Afghans as well as people from other neighbouring countries.
A social media campaign uses the name “Convoy of Light (Caravan al-Noor)” to promote the group.
“I fear the convoy of light will turn to become a very dark chapter in humanity. Frontex won’t consider neither the deteriorating living conditions in Syria nor the increasing Turkish violent racism against Syrians or normalization with Assad more than EU’s security,” Jerusalem Post cited a journalist as saying.
It is not clear whether the Turkish government will encourage the migrants’ passage, the daily said.
In 2020, Turkey announced it was not going to police its western borders anymore and allowed for buses to take migrants to the Greek border. A large group between 12,000 and 25,000 people gathered at the border, but they failed to cross into Greece.
The current gathering could go up to 100,000 people, one of the organisers of the campaign told website Aram.
“We are people with no demands. Our only demand is to protect our children and secure a future to live in dignity, freedom and safety,” the organisers said in a statement.
Migrants wish to leave Turkey for Europe due to rising racist rhetoric and deteriorating living conditions, the organisers said.
Ahval