İbrahim Maşe / Mersin, Oct 21 () – This year, around 3,100 refugees have lost their lives while crossing the Mediterranean and this number does not include the 264 people who have died in Turkish and Greek territorial waters, said European Union (UN) Delegation to Turkey Head of Civil Society Development Section Michael Rupp.

Rupp said, the irregular refugee flaw through Mediterranean Sea has tripled, against previous years, at the panel addressing Management of Syrian refugee flow in Turkey, within EU migration policies.

“Smuggling a major crime, a profitable business”

The panel, organized by the Friedrich Naumann Association and the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV), was hosted by Mersin Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with the participation of TESEV Chairman Professor Aydın Uğur,

Deputy Governor Aylin Kırcı Duman and Metropolitan Mayor Burhanettin Kocamaz. From health to education, sheltering to labor force, four key titles were addressed, within the panel.

Having declared some 7,300 migrants have been rescued by border officials and coast guard teams since the beginning of 2015, Rupp said the EU has been carrying out non-stop works to solve the problem of migration pressure.

Rupp stressed the migrant smuggling is a major crime, also a “profitable business”, as they do not face strict measures and punishment. It is thought that smugglers could reacquire around 2,5 million euro for helping 360 migrants to cross, despite no certain data has been achieved regarding the network of illegal migrants.

“A wide society on way to Turkey”

More than 620,000 applications of asylum to 29 EU countries were recorded in 2014, Rupp added.

According to officials number, only in Istanbul 400,000 Syrians shelter outside the refugee camps, said TESEV Chairman Aydın Uğur, stressing that other countries have been perceiving the issue as a problem of security.

“A wide society has left their home and has been heading towards us. There exist problems of education, health and employment. If we do not take these issues into account beforehand and find solutions, these problems will return in form of ‘bad neighborhood’ and misery” urged Uğur.