Platanos refugee self-organised solidarity, Lesvos. Like most scholars who research the current refugee crisis and borders in Europe, we were surprised by the initial agreements between EU and Turkey with respect to refugee flows. For many reasons.
First, this agreement rather than addressing the international humanitarian crisis, only outsources it to a region outside Europe’s core. European leaders have made a political decision to show Europe’s inhumane face and ignore what will happen to these refugees, as long as they stay away from Europe.
Second, the EU decided to draw up an agreement with Turkey just as Turkey declared a new war in the Middle East against the Kurds. It is only a matter of time before the Kurds of Turkey are added to the rest of the refugee flows.
