From Assad’s Grip to Tragic Death: The Tragedy of the Greek Boat Exacerbates the Suffering of Syrians

The recent incident of a capsized boat carrying migrants off the Greek coast, including scores of Syrians, sheds light on the facilitation that allows them to leave their homeland and travel to Libya, which served as the starting point for this tragic journey that met its devastating end on June 14, 2023.

The ill-fated fishing boat set sail from Tobruk, Libya, bound for Italy, carrying over 700 individuals, according to the human rights organization Alarm Phone.

Among those on board were Syrians, Palestinians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, and others. Tragically, the boat overturned off the coast of the Greek peninsula of Peloponnese.

 

A Journey of Death

Immediately, the Greek coast guard retrieved 79 bodies from the sea, including women and children, while hopes of finding survivors diminished due to the depth of the water in the area of the incident, reaching up to 5 kilometers.

Approximately 104 individuals were rescued, all of them men, according to the Greek coast guard.

Among the survivors are 49 Syrians, including Syrian Palestinians, 43 Egyptians, and 12 Pakistanis, despite not wearing life jackets.

Local Syrian media reported that around 300 Syrians were on board the dilapidated boat, measuring between 20 and 30 meters in length, and it is believed to have set sail empty from Egypt to Libya.

Libya has become a key launching point for clandestine migration journeys through its coasts, often departing from Benghazi, Tobruk, Derna, and other cities in the eastern region, despite the efforts of the Libyan coastguard to intercept illegal boats.

The Italian website Inside Over issued a warning about what it described as the Libyan migration bomb that posed a threat to the country, expressing concerns about potential waves of migration in the thousands from the Libyan coast toward the south.

The website stated in a report published on November 20, 2022, that human traffickers are able to carry out unlawful activities and sometimes even impersonate coast guard officials.

Among the Syrian victims, there were 35 individuals from the city of Kobani (Ayn al-Arab) in the Aleppo countryside. The brother of one survivor, who spoke to AFP, revealed this information. He further stated that, at present, only five of them have been positively identified as alive.

From Greece, a man from Daraa anxiously awaits news about his 21-year-old brother after discovering that his other brother, a 26-year-old, survived the drowning incident.

He told AFP that both brothers had traveled to Daraa from a Gulf country after getting in touch with a “broker” who arranged all the necessary documents for their journey to Libya.

“My brother told me that they called for help, and a ship approached and connected a rope to their boat, but the towing process was done incorrectly, causing it to capsize,” according to the survivor’s brother, who preferred not to be named.

The opposition Syrian TV station reported that a source who spoke to the survivors revealed that the boat had stopped in the territorial waters between Greece, Italy, and Malta for two days.

The source added that an Italian coast guard ship and another Maltese ship were nearby, but it was a passing oil tanker that provided them with water, sailing in close proximity.

On the second day, the Maltese coast guard provided them with water and food. However, the gathering of migrants on one side of the boat caused it to tilt, nearly capsizing it. By the end of the day, a Greek military ship approached them and convinced them to start the boat’s engine and head toward the Greek coast.

The source mentioned that a dispute erupted among the migrants regarding the destination the boat should sail toward, Greece or Italy, as activists from organizations in Italy were communicating with them by phone and persuaded them that the Italian coastguard would come to their rescue.

After the boat moved behind the Greek ship for a short distance, it malfunctioned. The crew of the small warship threw a rope that was tied to the boat and forcefully pulled it, causing it to overturn and sink, taking the lives of most of those on board.

Survivors confirmed to international media outlets that when the crowded boat malfunctioned, six crew members left on rubber boats, leaving the rest of the passengers behind.

 

The Syrian Option

The majority of Syrian nationals, especially those hailing from the province of Daraa, the birthplace of the 2011 revolution, were on board the sinking boat due to the Syrian regime providing significant facilitation for their departure to Libya.

Since the control of Bashar al-Assad’s regime over the province of Daraa, located about 120 km from the capital Damascus, in late August 2021, the province has remained a hotbed for two main reasons: The Assad intelligence apparatus’s desire to eliminate any opposing voices there and the rejection of many young people from Daraa to enter security settlements that targeted fighters and activists through Russian mediation.

Additionally, since 2022, the Assad regime has failed to seize the weapons of some opposition fighters in Daraa due to ongoing military operations against the Syrian regime in the province.

This undermines the equation of “zero settlement” that Russia, responsible for southern Syria adjacent to “Israel,” tried to implement through the first and second settlements with opposition factions, according to military experts.

This security equation, along with difficult living conditions, widespread unemployment, and low income, has led many people from Daraa to consider emigration.

In a noteworthy development, the Assad regime played a facilitating role in the departure of individuals from Daraa to Libya. This involved providing passports to the youth there, even those who had previous security settlements.

Given these circumstances, Libya has become a less costly and easier “platform” for Syrians to reach Europe, both in terms of financial cost and distance.

However, despite that, some Syrians leave Syria for Lebanon and proceed to Egypt before heading to Libya to begin their asylum journey.

 

Assad Tactics

In this context, Aymen al-Haraki, an uncle of one of the victims of the boat sinking off the coast of Greece, discussed, in his interview with Al-Estiklal, the reason why people from Daraa choose Libya as a destination to reach Europe.

He stated that the option of passing through Greece and Turkiye poses significant difficulties, as it requires passing through several countries before reaching the final destination, such as Germany and the Netherlands, in addition to the fear of failure and being apprehended.

“The idea of going from Syria to Belarus requires a visa that takes months, and it is not guaranteed, in addition to the difficulty of crossing European borders afterward due to the tightening control by European Union forces.”

Al-Haraki further emphasized that the choice of Libya comes from the fact that the financial cost is lower, ranging from approximately $6,000 to $7,000, and the journey is very short to reach Italy by ship or boat.

He also pointed out that a Libyan visa for Syrians is issued within two days, where the person immediately books a flight and leaves Daraa toward Damascus International Airport without any security problems or obstacles.

Activist Ibrahim al-Mohammad has drawn a connection between the rapid surge in travel to Libya by the youth of Daraa, who seek to reach Europe, and the facilitations offered by the Syrian regime to enable their departure.

This strategic move aims at deliberately depleting the province of its young population.

He stated to Al-Estiklal that “the regime failed to control the former fighters who refused the security settlements, and therefore it benefits from the departure of the youth from Daraa, especially from the villages involved in the settlements that still pose a security concern for it.”

Al-Mohammad also pointed out that “there is currently a significant spread of drug trafficking by the intelligence agencies of the Assad regime in Daraa, aiming to corrupt the youth and tarnish the image of the province, which is considered the cradle of the revolution.

“The Assad regime is the first beneficiary of depleting Daraa of its young population, in cooperation with Iran through facilitating the issuance of deferment documents for compulsory military service for the youth who failed to perform it after the revolution, as well as lifting the security pursuit of individuals wanted by the security branches in exchange for financial payments to facilitate their travel abroad.”

 

Double Tragedy

In Greece, nine individuals of Egyptian nationality, including the boat captain, were arrested after the sinking of the migrants’ boat off the Greek coast. The Greek News Agency reported that the individuals were detained in Kalamata, a port in the Peloponnese peninsula, where the survivors were transported. They are suspected of engaging in “illegal smuggling” of humans.

The Greek Supreme Court ordered an investigation to determine the causes of the tragedy.

It is worth noting that non-governmental organizations and international media have been accusing Athens for years of forcibly deporting migrants who seek asylum in the European Union.

Greece declared three days of mourning following the tragedy, which occurred just before the legislative elections on June 25, 2023.

However, several newspapers did not hide their anger over this new tragedy. The left-centrist newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton wrote the word “Shame” in six languages on its front page.

In Athens and Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece, about 5,000 people protested, according to the police, carrying slogans such as “No to Fortress Europe. Solidarity With Refugees.”

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya expressed its concern on June 12, 2023, regarding the “arbitrary detention” of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers, calling for an end to these practices and for the treatment of migrants with “dignity” and “humanity.”

Many of these migrants, including pregnant women and children, are being held in overcrowded and unhealthy conditions.

Thousands of others, including migrants who entered Libya legally, are being collectively expelled without proper screening or following the necessary legal procedures, according to the U.N. mission.

Migrant News reported testimonies from Syrian migrants who exited the Maya detention center west of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, revealing atrocities committed against them and others.

The migrants confirmed to the website on January 16, 2022, that there were children present in the center.

They also witnessed several deaths there, including those caused by malnutrition, gunfire, or physical abuse.

The United Nations Refugee Agency is cognizant of the situation unfolding in this center, yet it lies beyond its jurisdiction since it is not under the purview of the Irregular Migration Combat Unit.

According to the International Organization for Migration’s statement, published on June 16, 2023, nearly 3,800 people lost their lives on migration routes from North Africa and the Middle East in 2022, marking the highest death toll since 2017.