He was in a boat with another 45 migrants, two of them women. They were arrested by the greek coast guard and transferred to Chios island. According to the news it remains unclear how one of them drowned.
He was in a boat with another 45 migrants, two of them women. They were arrested by the greek coast guard and transferred to Chios island. According to the news it remains unclear how one of them drowned.
Press releases
25 July 2013
Two boat tragedies leave migrants dead and missing off Europe’s shores
Separate boating incidents putting the lives of dozens of migrants at risk in the Aegean Sea today are a tragic reminder of the dangers faced by people seeking to reach Europe’s borders, Amnesty International said.
A search and rescue operation continues off the Turkish coastal city Bodrum, where a boat believed to have 13 migrants on board went missing early this morning.
Also today the Greek coastguard rescued 21 migrants who fell from a rubber boat carrying 46 people near the island of Chios. One of the migrants was unconscious when pulled out of the sea and was later pronounced dead.
“The sad truth is that we’re likely to see more tragic incidents like these as migrants and asylum-seekers flee economic hardship and conflict with the hopes of finding safety and a better life in Europe,” said Jezerca Tigani, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Europe and Central Asia Programme. Continue reading ‘AI: Two boat tragedies leave migrants dead and missing off Europe’s shores’
“Why should a person drown?”
Giorgos Mavripidis, a fisherman from Skala Sikamias, saved a family from drowning as they were trying to reach the shores of Lesvos in October 2009. Eight other lives were lost that day.
“There’s no doubt many people are going to drown again this year”, he says. “Because here the storms are wild and the currents are strong.”
It was a regular morning for Giorgos Mavripidis. He was on his boat throwing his fishing nets when a speedboat loaded with people was capsized by the waves. Giorgos left his nets and rushed to help.
Continue reading ‘Video / AI: Greek fisherman saves people from drowning’
A refugee boat has sunk in the Aegean Sea off Ayvalık, leaving an Afghan refugee dead and five others missing.
The deceased refugee was identified as 45-year-old Vahide Selami.
Nine refugees were reportedly rescued after the incident.
The boat was cruising south from Çıplak Island (Chalkis, Cimno) in the northwestern province of Balıkesir at 5 a.m. before sinking due to an unknown reason.
Coast guard rescue teams are continuing their work to find the missing five.
Another refugee boat with 15 passengers got lost only three months after the tragedy that cost the lives of 21 refugees in December of last year on Lesvos island. Eight Syrian refugees a lost in the sea between Turkey and Lesvos. Six corpses were already found on the coast of the island. Relatives have arrived to look out for their beloved. One 17-year-old pregnant woman from Syria has been already recognised.
Last Friday the Greek coast guard had found already three of the corpses – of one woman and two children near Eressos beach. It seems the small boat got in distress only a few days earlier while the corpses were brought to the coast by the strong winds of the days. Saturday afternoon relatives of lost refugees reported to the police of Lesvos the disappearance of eight Syrians (two men, a woman, two minors and three children). They had started their dangerous journey in Dikili in Turkey but they never arrived. On Sunday another three corpses were found. Unfortunately the corpses are not to be recognised anymore since they were many days in the sea.
Meanwhile refugees continue to arrive on the island. On Monday 63 refugees were arrested my LEsvos police. Another 16 Afghans had spent some nights in the park of Mytilini city since the police was denying to register / arrest them. The local solidarity network “The village of all-together” supplied the homeless refugees with blankets, clothes and food.
efimerida ton sindakton (in greek)
lesvos news (in greek)
embros (in greek)
tvxs (in greek)
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL – PRESS RELEASE
20 March 2013
Refugees dying on dangerous routes to asylum in Europe
In a case highlighting the risks people take when fleeing conflict in their countries to seek refuge in Europe, the authorities of Lesvos continue their search for the bodies of asylum-seekers who had attempted to reach the Greek island.
Since last Friday, they have found the bodies of six Syrian nationals including a 17-year-old pregnant woman and a mother with her young children. They are now searching for the bodies of three more Syrian nationals whose families had reported missing to the island authorities after the nine attempted to cross from Turkey on 6 March 2013.
Lesvos is one of the main crossings for migrants and refugees trying to enter the European Union via the Greek mainland. Last December, 21 people (mostly Afghans) drowned close to the shores of the island, after the boat they were in capsized.
Since last summer, people fleeing the conflict in Syria have featured among those attempting the crossing, including many families with young children.
“As Greece is tightening the border controls in Evros, including the completion of a 10.5km fence last December, people take more and more dangerous routes. This was a tragedy waiting to happen,’’ said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Director of the Europe and Central Asia Programme.
“It is vital that the Greek authorities ensure protection to all asylum-seekers reaching the country. Instead, the Greek asylum system is grossly failing them. People who flee conflict, including many Syrians and Afghans who make it to the shores of Lesvos, are detained in police stations in overcrowded and poor conditions or in many cases left destitute to sleep in the streets.’’
“The Greek authorities should also take urgent measures to improve the reception conditions of those arriving at its shores and end the detention of asylum-seekers. In addition, Syrian nationals with no papers fleeing the conflict, must not be detained or issued with deportation orders and the authorities should proceed with a fair and effective examination of their asylum claims.”
“It is very painful to watch the same tragedy repeating in the shores of our own island,” said Efi Latsoudi, a local activist and member of the ‘Village of altogether’ – an initiative run by of volunteers who step in when state support for refugees and migrants is not available.
The bodies of 21 migrants were found on a beach on the Aegean island of Lesbos, December 15, 2012, after the sinking of their boat. A young Afghan of 16 years, one of only two survivors indicated that the boat had left the coast of Turkey, had thirty
people aboard, mostly Afghans, when it capsized because of bad weather. Efi Latsoudi, resident and volunteer Mytilene the charity « To Chorio tou Oloi Mazi », which helped the families of the victims in their efforts, discusses the moments of this drama, and the obstacles, and indifferenceof the authorities.
Continue reading ‘Snapshots of a human tragedy that continues, by Efi Latsoudi’
A migrant detainee in Parenesti, Drama tried to commit suicide with a razor in the night of Friday, 25th. The other detainees complained in a heated atmosphere against the detention conditions. Soon police forces were called to “control” the escalating situation.
On January 21st, 2013 nine Afghans were found in the region of Mandra, Didimotixos in Evros (five women, two minor boys and one minor girl with one man). One of the minors – a 16-year-old – had died. Some of the arrested had to be transferred to the hospital, the rest of them was brought to detention.