300 PAKISTANIS PRESUMED DEAD IN SHIPWRECK OFF GREEK

Tue 20 June 2023:

Pakistan observed a day of mourning for more than 300 Pakistanis presumed dead after an overcrowded fishing vessel carrying refugees sank off the coast of Greece.

At least 78 bodies have been recovered and hundreds more are feared drowned after the boat capsized in what was the worst and deadliest disaster of the year.

Most of the 750 passengers were from Egypt, Syria, Palestine and Pakistan and each paid $4,500 to make the journey.

Testimonies from survivors say Pakistanis on board were singled out and forced below deck and that women and children were locked up whilst other nationalities were allowed on the top deck.

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The boat set off from Libya, then picked up the passengers in Egypt, before heading to Italy but capsizing off the coast of Greece.

EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johannsson said that there has been a 600 per cent increase in departures from the eastern part of Libya this year.

The Greek and EU authorities have denied they knew that the packed vessel was in difficulty, even though NGOs have said they received several calls for help.

Alarm Phone, an emergency hotline for refugees in trouble at sea, said the coastguard was aware the boat was struggling hours before it sank.

A BBC investigation has found that the boat was stationary for at least seven hours before it capsized, contrary to the Greek authorities’ claim that it was still heading towards Italy.

The UN has called for an investigation into the tragedy and to find out why more wasn’t done earlier to rescue the vessel.

One of the survivors of the tragedy said that the boat capsized during the Greek coastguard’s attempt to tow it to shore after tying ropes in the wrong places.

Greek authorities said they were nowhere near the boat when it capsized.

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic, said: “I am struck by the alarming level of tolerance to serious human rights violations against refugees, asylum seekers and migrants that have developed across Europe.”

“Last week’s shipwreck off the Greek coast is yet another reminder that, despite many warnings, the lives of people at sea remain at risk in the face of insufficient rescue capacity and coordination, a lack of sage and legal routes and solidarity, and the criminalisation of NGOs trying to provide life-saving assistance.”

“Elsewhere in Europe, pushbacks at land and sea borders, violence against refugees and migrants, denial of access to asylum, deprivation of humanitarian assistance and the harassment of refugee rights defenders are widely documented.”