TIR truck queue at Hamzabeyli border crossing reaches 30 kilometers
A queue of TIR trucks at the Hamzabeyli border crossing between Turkey and Bulgaria has reached 30 kilometers. Drivers complain of long waits and a lack of facilities on the road.
Abdulrahman Sadikhli2 min read
At the Hamzabeyli crossing, which is located in Edirne and leads to Bulgaria, a queue of TIR trucks 30 kilometers long has formed. Drivers are transporting export goods from Turkey to European countries, but at the border they are standing for hours and days.
The Bulgarian side is not coping with the increased flow, which is why the queue has grown to 30 kilometers.
What the drivers say
Truck driver Sait Özkan has been in the queue for more than a day. According to him, about 20 kilometers remain to the customs gates. He believes that neither the Turkish nor the Bulgarian side is working quickly, and that both sides are shifting responsibility onto each other.
“We have been waiting since yesterday. There are 20 kilometers left to the customs gates, and for two days we have been suffering on the road. Neither the Turkish nor the Bulgarian side is working quickly. How much longer the wait will last is unknown. There is no toilet by the road, and food supplies are running out. We have survived for two days on the dry rations we took with us, and what happens next, we do not know.”
Migration and conditions on the road
Özkan also spoke about the problem of irregular migrants. According to him, at night migrants try to get into the trucks unnoticed. Drivers fear that if the seal is damaged or the tarpaulin is cut, they will be held responsible by customs officers, so they take turns on watch: one rests while the other is on duty.
“If the seal is broken or the tarpaulin is torn, we will be found responsible at customs. That is why we have agreed with colleagues to take turns on watch. There is no other way out.”
Another driver, Erdzhan Ulus, has been waiting for about 10 hours. According to him, he joined the queue at the 26th kilometer, and in 9–10 hours he moved forward only as far as the 23rd. He says that on the Bulgarian side passport control is carried out by a single officer, and that such a problem arises both when leaving and when entering.
Drivers are demanding better conditions, faster processing of paperwork and more efficient movement of traffic.
The report does not include comments from the border and customs services of Turkey or Bulgaria. How long the crossing will take is not stated in the text.
Source: cnnturk.com
