Skip to main content

Migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh wait after being detained by Turkish authorities at a bus terminal in the resort town of Bodrum, Turkey.MURAD SEZER/Reuters

Under the scorching sun, migrants on Sunday sought shade and a hiding place near Fenar Beach, in Bodrum, Turkey. The heat-stressed pines and cacti that populate the slopes leading down to the beach where Alan Kurdi's body was found last week are as good as any – so long as the migrants can keep themselves out of sight of the Turkish police.

Around 1 a.m., they emerge like fast-moving shadows and board the waiting rubber dinghies, powered by the cheap engines that will propel them into the darkness of the Aegean Sea and hopefully toward the Greek island of Kos.

Some of them do not know how to swim. When asked how they will survive if the boat they are travelling in capsizes, they hand their fate over to God. "Inshallah, we'll make it."

The cheapest dinghies can be bought for $2,000 (U.S.) at the nearby marine store. On top of that, an engine needs to be purchased, usually for about $1,500, although the asking price may change over the course of a day depending on demand.

In addition to money they brought with them, the Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans and Pakistanis ask family, friends or anyone they know back at home to send more cash. When a boat is punctured by police officers or smugglers, they must begin again making the costly plans to attempt the journey because they do not consider returning home to be an option.

Muhammed Ali, a migrant in his late 20s from Pakistan, says his future will be decided on the inky waters. "I will live with honour like a man, or I will die in that sea and take my honour with me."

Between attempts at crossings, migrants head back into the main township of Bodrum, sleeping in public parks or at bus stations.

Their sleep is often interrupted by police who have cracked down since the discovery of Alan's body last week focused global attention on this resort town. Some people have been ushered onto buses destined for Izmir, a few hours' drive north, perhaps to be transferred to refugee camps on the southern borders of Turkey. This has only heightened the sense of urgency they feel to reboard boats and head for Greece.

In one of the parks on Sunday, Abdul Menem Alsatouf held his Syrian passport high over his head as he screamed: "I am a person, I am a human being!"

He then turned his attention to his sick son lying and crying on the ground. He helped him go to the toilet as other refugees and a few tourists passed by.

Mr. Alsatouf believed his son needed urgent medical attention but help was not immediately at hand.

Bodrum's tourist industry has been damaged by the influx of migrants. But a side industry has sprung up, with shops that sell life jackets or rubber dinghies needed for the journey to Kos, or taxis that ferry items to migrant hideouts along the beaches, benefiting from those migrants who have money.

Some shopkeepers believe hundreds of thousands of dollars have been injected into the sagging Bodrum economy. The markets never sold so many biscuits, bottled waters, fruit juices, cartons of milk, bread. Cheap restaurants have made a fortune from their refugee clientele.

Interact with The Globe