Among the group of nearly 40 Syrian refugees forced to seek refuge on the islet in the Evros River was a five-year-old girl, Maria, who was reported to have died from a scorpion sting. Her nine-year-old sister remains seriously ill. Immigration Minister Notis Mitarachi said on Tuesday that Greece would try to retrieve the body of the dead girl. The ordeal is the latest incident to highlight what Niamh Nic Carthaigh, director of EU policy at the International Rescue Committee, calls a “political game of gross irresponsibility” between the two countries that is costing lives. One of the group, Baida Al-Saleh, 27, said the Syrians arrived on the islet on July 14. Lawyers acting on their behalf were granted a temporary injunction by the European Court of Human Rights on July 20 to allow them to stay, but a few days later they were forcibly pushed back to Turkey and taken into custody. In early August they were sent back to the island. They survived by drinking river water and eating corn and leaves, while insects bit their skin in the heat. “They treat us like animals,” Al-Saleh said in a voice memo from the islet last week. Civil society groups have lobbied Turkey and Greece to save the group. Ankara had no comment, but Athens claimed it was unable to help as the islet, marked as Greek on maps, was in Turkey. Interactive Greece-Turkey In recent months, thousands of people have attempted to cross the river Evros, separating Turkey and Greece, taking advantage of the shallow summer waters. Both sides claimed to have searched for the group but found none. The NGO Ularsularis Mülteci Hakları Derneği – which has ties to the Turkish government – said in a statement that security officers from the nearby city of Edirne arrived within 75 meters of the coordinates provided by the migrants on August 10 and used a loudspeaker, but received no no reply. The claims are disputed by lawyers and journalists, such as George Christidis, who has closely documented the team’s plight for German news website Der Spiegel. They say they have collected evidence to support the team, including live locations and verified photo metadata. In the end, the group crossed to Greece on a boat left by other migrants, fearing a violent push back, but driven to seek help for the nine-month pregnant Nor, who was in pain and bleeding. A statement from the Greek police said that 22 men, nine women and seven children were found and that government agencies “rushed to help them” with “food and water and took them to a temporary accommodation”. Al-Saleh said the group received medical attention and believed they would now register for asylum. In recent months, thousands have attempted to cross the Ebro river, separating Turkey and Greece, taking advantage of the shallow summer waters. UNHCR reported 3,225 recorded arrivals in Greece via the land border at Evros this year. Although the Syrian situation is not unique, it captured the sympathy of Greeks, in part because of the children in the group. It is feared that a growing number of Syrians could attempt the perilous journey to Europe as Turkey begins implementing plans, announced in May, to return one million migrants to areas of Syria under Turkish military control. Turkey hosts the world’s largest refugee population, with 3.6 million Syrians registered there alone, and the intensity of this has led to anti-immigrant sentiment. Greece has long faced accusations of carrying out violent migrant pushbacks that continue despite an EU warning in June that Athens was at risk of losing funding. Louise Donovan, UNHCR’s representative in Greece, said the agency was deeply saddened by the child’s death and urged both countries to abide by international law. “While states have the legal right to control their borders, this must be done in accordance with national, European and international law, with full respect for human rights, and above all the right to life. “The urgent humanitarian imperative to protect human life must always take precedence,” he said.
