Greek police escorted migrants to Turkey-bound vessels. This is the first deportation in connection with implementing the European Union plan, which aims to limit the rate of migration in European countries.
The first 131 refugees who came from Lesbos, occupied two small vessels, while another boat carried 66 refugees from the island of Chios. On April 4, they arrived at the port of Dikili in Turkey.
Frontex, the border agency the EU commissioned, said that the boats were carrying a mixture of nationalities - Syrians, Afghans, Pakistanis and Iraqis.
"I hate to say this, but they were easy cases," said Eva Moncure, a spokeswoman for Frontex, about how the first deportation went smoothly.
Those who were deported to Turkey will be sent to where they registered when they first arrived, or if unregistered, they will be sent to camps northwest part of the country.
The Agreement
Under the EU-Turkey agreement, illegal migrants in Greece will be sent back to Turkey if they do not apply for asylum or if the application for asylum is rejected.
The agreement had been dubbed controversial because of the reactions it got from those who condemn the deportation. In particular, human rights advocates are concerned whether there have been a fair and full asylum review for the deportees. Refugees are also protesting, saying that the deportation is a "dirty deal."
The European Union's part of the deal is its pledge to give billions of dollars in assistance, ease on visa rules and membership application of Turks will also be revived.
The EU-Turkey deal states that for every individual sent back to Turkey, the members of the European Union will take one person with an approved asylum claim.
Police from Lesbos said that there had been a flurry of last-minute asylum applications, some of the refugees still did not apply, as they are certain of being denied and eventually deported.
Most of the 2,800 refugees detained in Moria applied for asylum, which could delay the process because applications for asylum still needs to undergo examination and hearing.
"What we know is that 90 percent of [those in] the Moria camps have applied for asylum," said Lt. Zacharia Tsirigoti, Greek department for refugees.
In Turkey
There are citizens of Dikili who are opposed to the coming of refugees. About 4,000 locals even signed a petition expressing their complaints and concerns that the area is too small to accommodate those who are going to be deported.
"We cannot fit the refugees," said Emirhan Cekun.
On the other hand, some refugee rights campaigners carried banners of support to deportees, saying to stop the deportation and to open the borders.
The Migrants
According to the authorities there are already 6,100 migrants in the Aegean Islands. Forty-six thousand of them are on the mainland and not less than 20,000 are staying in makeshift camps on the border of Northern Macedonia and Athens.
