Bodrum/Turkey: Eighteen immigrants from Pakistan, Iraq and Syria, trying to sail to Greece, drowned as their wooden boat capsized 3.5 km off the southern Turkish town of Bodrum on Saturday.
Turkish coast guard – alerted by the fishermen who reported hearing screams – rescued and taken 14, many in serious condition, to a local hospital.
Winter and rough sea has dampened the exodus yet it continues. According to the International Organization for Migration some 600 people have died in 2015 attempting to reach greener pastures. Many of those who died were trying to escape the four-year-old civil war in Syria.
It is worth recalling that Ankara has received three billion Euros in cash from EU for hosting 2.2 million Syrians. Money changed hands following a deal struck on November 29 in which Turkey pledged to help impede flow of migrants into Europe.
