By Anthi Pazianou / published in “Efimerida ton Sindakton”
Crossing Borders
Since last August 1,200 refugees have been arrested in Lesvos for illegal entry into Greece. This was brought about by the draconian measures on the border between Evros – Northern Greece and Turkey. In the name of ‘Fortress Europe’, refugees, mainly from Afghanistan and Syria, were forced to turn back and ultimately choose a more hazardous entry into Greece by sea.
On the 14th December 2012, 29 refugees didn’t reach their destination. According to the testimony of the only survivor, the boat in which they were travelling suddenly turned upside down. 21 corpses were recovered over the next 2 days while the rest, including children, are still unaccounted for. Continue reading In the “village of all together” waiting for the police….→
Greece: MSF raises concerns after boat tragedy in Lesvos Date Published: 19/12/2012 11:10
On the dawn of Friday 14th December, a boat sank near the coast of the Greek island of Lesvos where Médecins Sans Frontières/ Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has been providing medical and relief assistance to newly arrived migrants and refugees since October. It is believed that 28 migrants were on board. The death toll has so far risen to 21 while the coast guard is still looking for six missing people. There is only one survivor so far, an 18 year old male. Continue reading Greece: MSF raises concerns after boat tragedy in Lesvos→
It was 6.30 a.m. on a Saturday when Greek Coast Guard Ensign Chrisafis Theofilos’s boat got a report of a migrant drowning off the coast of the island of Lesvos.
As dawn began to break, Theofilos sped south toward the man’s coordinates. His scheduled departure had already been delayed five hours by a broken radar system that headquarters in Athens hadn’t yet fixed. That made night patrols too dangerous. Before Theofilos got to the man, another Coast Guard boat had already picked him up and taken him to the hospital with hypothermia. Continue reading In Greek migrant camp, refugees find tough road to Europe→
The interview was held by Ilias Maravas for EPA Aigaiou
I remember that I arrived at the shore. I looked for them but I couldn’t find anyone. Then I remember that I woke up in the hospital.
The only survivor of the refugee tragedy of Friday near Lesvos island is a 16-year-old from Bamiyan in Afghanistan. He had entered a dinghy with 28 other Afghans on Friday when after one hour the dinghy started getting into distress and water entered the boat. It turned around and they all fell into the sea. Continue reading Interview with the survivor of the ship tragedy in Lesvos→
