Exhausted, Hungry and Hurt: Afghans Seek Refuge in Turkey

Turkish authorities say they have been tightening eastern border controls since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan to prevent a large influx of refugees, near the Turkish border with Iran, Aug. 30, 2021.

This Afghan boy's legs were torn up by barbed wire as he crossed the border from Iran into Turkey, but he is too afraid of arrest to seek medical help, in Van, Turkey, Sept. 1, 2021.

This graveyard in Van, Turkey, holds the bodies of refugees who died trying to cross into Turkey, Sept. 1, 2021.

Refugees from Afghanistan can be seen in the hills and fields of eastern Turkey, Sept. 1, 2021.

Refugees run to get out of sight, fearing arrest in eastern Turkey, Sept. 1, 2021.

Under a bridge in eastern Turkey, refugees wait for a smuggler to pick them up and guide them to what they hope is a safe location, Aug. 31, 2021.

Refugees arrive exhausted, hungry and often broke after paying smugglers and encountering thieves as they fled from Afghanistan to eastern Turkey, Sept. 1, 2021.

Many Afghans arrive in eastern Turkey not knowing where to find safety, as their entry into the country is often considered illegal, Sept. 1, 2021.

This man shows a tattoo of his fiancee's initials, saying he hopes to one day go back to Afghanistan to collect her, Aug. 31, 2021, in eastern Turkey.

Single young men from Afghanistan who recently arrived in eastern Turkey hide out, Aug. 31, 2021. Families more often have the chance to apply for legal refugee status.

Young men often say they fled Afghanistan, leaving their parents behind, because the Taliban had targeted them as former or potential fighters against the group, in eastern Turkey, Aug. 31, 2021.