New Year’s eve: Twenty three  children left drifting in life rafts by Greek Coast Guard outside Samos

While most of Europe was counting down to midnight, celebrating the end of the year, and the beginning of a new one, with fireworks and parties, Greek authorities continued their illegal and brutal pushback tactic.

Just before midnight on New Year’s Eve,

a group of 39 people, 23 of them small children, was brutally stopped by the Greek Coast Guard just before they arrived on Samos.

The group was taken onboard the coast guard vessel, strip searched, all belonging taken away from them, forced into two life rafts, and left helplessly drifting in the middle of the sea in the dark.

The crew of the coast guard vessels just managed to get back to port to participate in the celebrations and fireworks, as the new year began, while 39 souls were left at sea drifting in the dark.

They had no way to call for help, the coast guard had made sure to take away all their phones.

This was the last pushback in 2024, but make no mistake, it will continue as nothing has happened in 2025.

300 rubber boats and 327 life rafts have been found drifting in the Aegean Sea in 2024, involving almost 15.000 people, all victims of Greek illegal pushbacks.

Nothing will ever change, as long as we don’t stand up against injustice.