WEDNESDAY 4 MARCH 2020Refugees stranded as the gates
of Europe stay shut
No shelter, little food, yet they cling to hope of a better life
Refugees and migrants land ashore the Greek island of Lesbos on Monday (AFP)
BORZOU DARAGAHI
IN DOYRAN, TURKEY
They had been threatened by the never-ending war in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province, subject to bigotry
and denied education and healthcare in Iran, and exploited by employers, landlords and smugglers in
Turkey.
Now sitting in a muddy field adjacent to the Meric river that abuts the border with Greece and the
European Union, the 25 or so members of the Dowlati family are exposed to the cold and wind. They have
no money and nor much food. As their children cry, they sit and wait for an opportunity to cross into a
European Union that does not want them.