QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Before Shiyar embarked on his journey to Europe, he could hardly have imagined the hardship he would face, as he crossed through territory held by terrorist groups and criminal gangs. At one point, he would find himself running from a hail of bullets.
This report looks into the phenomenon of human smuggling in Syrian, which has exploded in recent years, and the astronomical sums of money which are involved. Victims’ testimonies, such as Shiyar’s, are taken as the basis for this report.
Unsafe routes
In late October 2022, Shiyar began looking for a smuggler that could take him to Europe. He kept asking himself and potential smugglers, “Is the route safe?” After a month of weighing his options, the 21-year-old, along with his cousin, embarked on a journey that would end unexpectedly.
They were told by a smuggler that they could be taken from Qamishli to Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) in northeast Syria, which is under the control of the Turkish-backed factions. From there, they would be transferred to Istanbul in return for $4.000, per head. The smuggler demanded the money in advance, repeating that the route was safe and could be passed quickly.
Filled with hope, a group of local youth, including Shiyar and his cousin, decided that they would seek a better life in Europe twelve years after war erupted in their country.
They gathered in the village of Sabah al-Khair, north of Raqqa, the last transit point before entering areas under the control of Turkey’s opposition factions. At the dawn the next day, they were packed into cars transporting goods.
Around 70 people set off in these cars on the road to al-Tarwaziya, in the countryside of Tel Abyad, northern Syria. The car stopped at a place Shiyar did not recognize. It was a checkpoint of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), which acted as a gathering spot for migrants. Each of them was asked to cough up 50.000 SYP (about $8) as a ‘visa fee’ in order to enter the SNA’s areas.
The armed men divided the migrants into smaller groups. Shiyar and his cousin were placed under the custody of the one led by Abu al-Hassan of ‘Ahrar al-Sharqiya’, one of the SNA’s constituent factions. They were handed over to another faction, led by Abu Humam al-Idlibi, based in the village of al-Aziziyah, south of Sere Kaniye. At that point, Shiyar understood that turning back was no longer an option.
Payment or death
As Shiyar set out on his journey, Saeed had already been through his. The 42-year-old does not deny that he was a victim of smugglers and SNA factions. The journey nearly cost him his life and that of his two children.
Sitting in front of a car maintenance shop, Saeed lights a cigarette. He says he put his confidence in the smuggler. In mid-September 2022, he, along with three youths, travelled to Sere Kaniye after being told by the smuggler that the route was “safe and easy to pass”. His journey took him through areas held by the SNA’s Sultan Murad Division.
The father, who left behind a wife and two children, was detained by Turkish border guards twice as he attempted to cross, and handed over to a different SNA faction. He never learned the name of the faction holding him. “They all compete for the income from smuggling,” he says. He no longer trusts any smugglers.
A faction member called Abu Muhammad, who spoke Aleppine Arabic and wore the Turkish insignia on his military uniform, asked Saeed for $5.000 in order to release him. Otherwise, he said, he could face death. After a month of detention, the sum was dropped to $2.500. Saeed paid and returned home.
The Synergy/Hevdesti organization, which documents human rights abuses in Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyad, reported in August 2022 that at least nine incidents of factional infighting had broken out in Sere Kaniye over smuggling rights.
Agents wearing military badges
From Syria, there are two main routes that lead to Europe. The first traverses areas under the control of Syrian opposition factions; the second goes through areas held by Syrian government forces and is run by Hezbollah and other affiliated groups, and leads to Lebanon.
As Shiyar was trying to cross the Syrian-Turkish border, Baran Misko, 38, a Kurdish journalist, travelled on the other route to Europe, via Lebanon.
Security checkpoints at the Lebanese border perturbed the Kurdish journalist, who is wanted by the Syrian government for failing to appear for his compulsory military service. Misko was relieved when they passed the first checkpoint without hiccups.
From Germany, Misko told North Press about the details of his journey, which began in Raqqa in return for $200. Misko noted that Syrian government checkpoints do not ask for passengers’ IDs, as the drivers have military permissions attained through the Lebanese Hezbollah.
The journalist said that “government forces, soldiers of the Fourth Division and Hezbollah are all accomplices to such kind of operations. There is at least 20 checkpoints between Raqqa and Lebanon; all are paid off by the smugglers.”
North Press contacted Khalil, a smuggler who shuttles migrants from Raqqa to Beirut, inquiring about ways in which one could reach Lebanon. Khalil, who uses a Lebanese number on WhatsApp, confidently stated that “the road to Lebanon is safe and there are no obstacles.”
The smuggler said it was like a relay journey, where migrants would be handed from one smuggler to the next, then to a third, who would take them to Europe. This was confirmed by a different smuggler in Oran, Algeria.
However, the journey is far from the leisurely travel smugglers promise. Beyond Lebanon, migrants travel to Egypt and Libya, and then on to Algeria, which acts as a transit point to Spain. As migrants cross the Mediterranean on rubber dinghies, they often fall victim to the choppy seas.
In early November, the bodies of 12 Kobani locals were returned to the city. They had died trying to reach Europe on the same route Misko had taken.
The journalist had no passport. However, he was able to procure one in Lebanon for $2.000. His first flight took him to Dubai, then to Egypt. Finally he travelled to Benghazi, Libya. From there he went to Algeria, and then along the coast of Oran until Spain. From Spain he travelled to Germany after a two-month long journey that cost $15.000.
Signatures and terrorists
Back in Syria, following two failed attempts to cross the border, the smuggler threatened Shiyar and his companions that they would have to attempt the crossing again or he would leave them to their fate.
Two days later, Shiyar was able to cross the border. As he did, the Turkish border guards shot at him. Shiyar was able to run away from the danger, though his cousin was captured and handed over to the Hamza Division, another SNA faction, which demanded that his family pay a ransom of $7.000 for his release.
Hamza Division told the family to transfer the amount within 24 hours. The family, however, demanded that his son be released first and the money handed over later by a third party. This was rejected by the SNA faction.
Shiyar, who was stopped in Adana, Turkey, and awaited in a refugee camp, says paying the ransom would not ensure his cousin’s freedom.
Three days later, Shiyar was told to sign a paper in Turkish, which he did not understand. He was put on a bus to an unknown destination. Three hours later, he came face to face with a armed, bearded man at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, which connects Turkey to Syrian territory controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS – formerly al-Nusra Front), an al-Qaeda-linked militia.
As Shiyar found himself in Idlib, deliberations over his cousin were ongoing. The smuggler who they had contracted later told him his cousin was to be released. He was referred to a tribunal in Tel Abyad under the charge of being affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
North Press contacted the SNA about the factions’ complicity in human smuggling and enriching themselves off of it. Ayman Sharara, an SNA spokesperson, denied any SNA involvement in people smuggling.
Sharara said that the SNA rejects such acts, and its ‘military police’ enforce this policy in all its territories. Sharara indicated that the SNA would issue a statement regarding smuggling and extortion cases in areas under their control, though it did not specify which body would be responsible. Two months since, no statement has been forthcoming.
Hamza Division’s media office did not deny “offences by some people affiliated with the Division”. But clarified that such acts “have nothing to do with al-Hamza Division.”
Late in 2022, Algerian authorities deported some 60 migrants to Niger, a country to its south. Most were Syrians who left their country via Lebanon. They remained stranded, unable to return to Syria or cross into Algeria, as they had no money and the Algerian authorities denied them access. The Syrian embassy in Algeria issued no respond to their appeals.
Misko said many of those stuck are facing an unknown fate in Niger’s desert. Some have been stuck there for more than a year.
There are an estimated 124 illegal crossings on the 375 km long Syrian-Lebanese border, according to Lebanese Higher Defense Council. It says it finds it very difficult to control the border. Security reports say the number of crossings is even higher and each is known by a different name according to the smuggler and the kind of smuggled goods.
Punishable Crime
Two weeks after the arrival of the bodies in Kobani, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) issued a twelve-article decree aiming to halt any and all human smuggling.
At the time, Farid Atti, co-chair of the AANES General Council, said human smuggling is a crime, and the decree could curb the aggravating number of victims of this crime by imposing punishments of up to ten years in prison for smugglers.
Atti said that the Internal Security Forces of North and East Syria (Asayish) apprehended the number of the people after the Kobani residents were killed. No Asayish-related media reported anything of the like.
In Idlib, Shiyar gave up the dream of what he dubbed the ‘European Dream’ once and for all, and sought safe passage home. Through Afrin, Sarmada, al-Bab, and Manbij, Shiyar finally reached Qamishli empty handed, but having experienced a journey he is unlikely to forget.
Note: The names used in this report have been changed for security reasons.