Enough! Respect to the survivors and the dead. Legal and safe routes now!
Today’s shipwreck off the coast of Pylos, Greece is possibly the country’s largest, with at least 78 deaths so far. Reports refer to up to 700 persons on board, meaning that hundreds are missing.
Deadly shipwrecks have notably intensified in recent times due to the absence of safe and legal pathways for people seeking asylum in the EU, coupled with established policies and systematic deterrence practices at the EU’s external borders in dereliction of basic legal standards.
The so-called “Calabria route” is a particularly dangerous avenue that people are forced to use from southern Turkey or Libya en route to Italy, in an attempt to avoid Greece on account of well-documented human rights violations and reported informal forced returns (pushbacks).
Enough! Human lives must finally be respected – no more deaths.
Respect to those rescued: the State must treat them as shipwreck survivors and offer them all necessary safeguards;
Respect to those lost: identification procedures must be conducted in full respect of the rights of the deceased;
Respect to the victims’ relatives: missing persons must be recorded and relatives must receive immediate and full information, as well as constant updates and support.
Crocodile tears won’t bring back the dead or avert the next tragedy. The only solution is radical reform of European and Greek asylum and migration policies, based on compliance with the fundamental rights of refugees and migrants.
Previous cases of shipwrecks we have legally supported in Greece regrettably demonstrate tremendous gaps in information, assistance and care of survivors and relatives of victims, as well as in identification of the deceased.
As for the Pylos shipwreck, we call upon the Greek authorities to immediately trigger emergency measures and to ensure:
- Coordinated activation of all competent authorities and bodies;
- Investigation of rescue procedures relating to the ship in question;
- Provision of all necessary conditions for reception, shelter and psychosocial and legal support to survivors;
- Set-up of contact arrangements (telephone helpline) for information and support to relatives and for search of shipwreck victims.
