One of the greatest murders exercised by the hands of a state in recent memory happened near the waters of Pylos, Greece between the 13th and 14th of June, where a still unknown number of refugees and migrants ranging from 600 to 700 have died as a direct result of a Greek coastal guard ship’s pushback. An overcrowded ship containing from 700 to 850 people heading towards Italy from Libya has called for help in the early hours of 13/6 and the Greek state was aware of that at least for 20 hours before the shipwreck happened. Despite the overloaded, unseaworthy and extremely dangerous condition of the ship, the Greek government had announced that the coastal guard did not attempt a rescue because the migrant ship did not desire so (an argument completely false and vile in itself) which was soon was disclosed, was a cynical half-truth that was hiding something far worse. In fact, a coastal guard ship did attempt to tie the migrant ship by rope, obviously not with the intent to rescue the ship though but to push it back towards Maltese waters, according to the usual illegal practice of the Greek coastal guard. According to accounts of the survivors, this resulted in making the migrant ship tilt towards the left. The coastal guard ship untied the rope, but then a movement of the Greek boat created a big wave which resulted in the migrant ship finally sinking. Only 104 people were rescued, with 78 found dead and the rest missing, with little to no hope of being found alive existing after five days. Survivors also say that they were waiting for 3 hours in the sea while the coastal guard ship did nothing until they got picked up by other boats that came, resulting in many more deaths that could be saved. Also, some survivors even got beat up by guards after they were picked up.
It is another state crime in a series of countless ones taking place in the Mediterranean Sea, which is the deadliest migration route in the world, counting more than 27 thousand dead since 2014. It’s not just Greece (although Greece is by far the deadliest enforcer in the area) but anti-immigrant policies are the norm in Europe, as the continent leans more and more towards racism and xenophobia, hidden behind hypocritical progressive rhetoric. Calls for help in the sea are often ignored and boats are often dangerously “pushed back” to deter migrants, a huge number of these deaths result from these practices therefore laying in the bloody hands of Europe. We want to remind everyone that there is no such thing as an “illegal” person and that open borders and freedom of movement and migration should be a given. Fuck borders and the racist policies of Greece and Europe! Support migrants and refugees worldwide!
*Photo from a demonstration in the port of Pireus towards Frontex offices, banner by Solidarity With Migrants assembly