were waiting by the river to be put into the boat that went back and forth carrying groups of ten. We crossed around 7 pm as it was getting dark.83 When forcibly returning migrants at the Evros River border, Greek police sometimes hit and kick them. A 34-year-old Turkoman from Kirkuk, who said that he made about 10 attempts to cross into Greece before succeeding, spoke about one of those episodes: One time I crossed the river into Greece and arrived in Komotini. They put us in jail for five days and then took us to the river and pushed us back. We were 60 persons. They put us in a small river boat with a motor in groups of ten. They did it in the middle of the night. It was raining hard and the Greek police started beating us to make us move more quickly. I saw one man who tried to refuse to go on the boat, and they beat him and threw him in the river. They beat us with police clubs to get us to go on the boat.84 Similar summary expulsions have been reported from Greece to Bulgaria. In Embracing the Infidel: Stories of Muslim Migrants on the Journey West, Behzad Yaghmaian recounts the story of Purya, an Iranian migrant who entered Greek territory and wanted to seek asylum in Greece. 85 Purya thought the Greek police were taking him to Athens, only to discover that they were heading back to Bulgaria, where he was turned over to Bulgarian soldiers who beat him and subjected him to forced labor. On another attempt, the Bulgarians and their guard dogs caught Purya trying to leave, after which he was taken to a “torture room ‘for those with multiple arrests,’” where he was severely beaten.86 On a third attempt, he crossed into Greece and got as far as Thessaloniki, but the Greeks again returned him to the Bulgarian border. This time, however, the Bulgarians refused to accept him: Not wishing to allow him in the country, and not able to deport him to Bulgaria, the Greeks had to find another country for him. Turkey was a natural candidate. Saved from the dogs and the beatings by the 83 Human Rights Watch interview (name withheld, E-153), Kırklareli, June 10, 2008. 84 Human Rights Watch interview (name withheld, B-18), Athens, May 27, 2008. 85 Yaghmaian, Embracing the Infidel, pp. 180-189. 86 Ibid., p. 185. Stuck in a Revolving Door 40