Demonstrators were scheduled to gather in Athens on Friday to commemorate the anniversary of a tragic shipwreck that claimed the lives of hundreds of migrants off Greece. They aimed to seek answers regarding the incident’s causes and the fate of their loved ones.
Around 700 migrants from Pakistan, Syria, and Egypt were crowded onto a fishing trawler in Libya bound for Italy. The vessel capsized off southwestern Greece on June 14, 2023, despite being monitored by the Greek coast guard for hours.
While 104 survivors were rescued, only 82 bodies were recovered. This disaster, one of the deadliest boat accidents in the Mediterranean, raised significant concerns about the European Union’s approach to managing migrant flows.
Mohamed, an Egyptian survivor, spoke of enduring nightmares and ongoing physical pain. He reflected, “We are fortunate to be alive… Where are the bodies of the others?”
Survivors and activists planned rallies in Athens, London, Paris, and Berlin, with relatives in the Pakistani city of Lalamousa preparing a memorial ceremony.
The survivors allege that the coast guard caused the ship to capsize during an attempt to tow it early in the morning. Authorities, however, attribute the tragedy to movement among the migrants aboard the overcrowded boat.
A year later, a naval court’s investigation into the coast guard’s actions remains in its preliminary stages, causing frustration among survivors, relatives, and human rights organizations. Greece’s shipping minister has appealed for patience.
Pantelis Themelis, commander of Greece’s Disaster Victim Identification unit, reported that 74 of the 82 deceased individuals have been identified. Nevertheless, numerous families from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia have submitted DNA samples to Greece without results.
Athens resident Hasan Ali from Pakistan lamented that his brother Fahad is among the missing, and their parents refuse to accept the possibility of his death.
