14 children allegedly thrown into life rafts, abandoned at sea by Greek Cost Guard

Aegen Boat Report has accused the Greek Coast Guard of throwing 14 children into life rafts and abandoning them at sea.

While media pressure is building up against Greek authorities systematic and widespread human rights violations in the Aegean, it said, they continue to leave vulnerable men, women and children helpless drifting in life raft in the middle of the sea.

“The last days 10 life rafts have been found drifting by the Turkish coast guard, carrying 180 people, mostly Afghan nationals, 60 of them were small children.

“We are in daily contact with people in distress, after being illegally and brutally pushed back by the Greek coast guard in the Aegean Sea. Some of them have had the nerve to document their ordeal on video, most don’t, because their phones are usually taken by their captives before being forced into these motor-less rafts, or they basically don’t dare in fear of what would happen to them if caught.”

In the early hours of Wednesday, June 19, Aegean Boat Report said a boat carrying 33 people was closing in on the north east shore of the Greek island of Leros. “They had travelled over 20 miles from the Turkish coast, in the cover of darkness, in an overloaded flimsy rubber boat, and had only a few more miles left to reach land on Leros. Onboard was also14 small children.

“A few miles from Leros they were detected by a vessel from the Greek coast guard, and brutally stopped. Everyone was taken onboard the coast guard vessel, some believed that they would be taken to safety, others were more skeptical about their fate.

“When masked men onboard the Greek coast guard vessel, carrying guns and batons, started shouting, ordering them to hand over their phones, brutally searching everyone, they understood immediately what would come next, many of them have had encounters with these brutal masked men in the past, so they knew.

At first light the group was forced into two life rafts, and left helplessly drifting in the middle of the sea, at the Turkish sea border by the Greek coast guard.

At 05.30 CEST, a woman from one of the life rafts contacted Aegean Boat Report and asked for assistance. We did the only thing we could do, document their case and inform Turkish authorities, so that the group could be rescued and taken to safety on land.

“Hi please help us, we have kids and called Turkey coast guard, they said we can’t come because you are in greek water, please save us!”

The life rafts were drifting, now inside Turkish territory waters, but the group continued to insist that they didn’t want to be rescued by the Turkish coast guard, and taken back to Turkey, they said they were not safe in Turkey. Under the circumstances, since they had already been illegally pushed back by the Greek coast guard, their only option was to be taken back to Turkey.

The group said “we are not safe in Turkey”, and we must agree, they are absolutely not safe in Turkey. Thousands of Afghans have the last months been rounded up and transported to camps close to the Iranian and Syrian border, from there they most likely face deportation back to Afghanistan, to an uncertain future under the Taliban regime.

At 07.30 we were informed by the Turkish coast guard that two life rafts had been found drifting 20 miles north west of Bodrum, carrying 33 people, 14 of them small children.

When comparing pictures and videos taken onboard the life raft and shared with Aegean Boat Report, with pictures taken by the Turkish coast guard, we could confirm that it was the same group.

While pressure are mounting up against not only Greek authorities, but also Frontex and the European Commission, for supporting the widespread and systematic fundamental rights violations in Greece, Greek authorities continues to put lives of vulnerable men, women and children at risk at the European border, in the name of border protection, blessed and funded by EU.

This week two strong documentaries have been published, by BBC in the UK and STRG_F in Germany.

They both clearly, and without any doubt, shows the systematic human rights violations in Greece, and the total failure of Frontex, and the European Commission, in make sure that members states uphold fundamental rights of people seeking protection in Europe.

When small defenseless children are thrown into life rafts, and abandoned in the middle of the sea by authorities, and we don’t raise our voice, there is something terribly wrong with us.