The Turkish Coast Guard Command saved two groups of irregular migrants off Türkiye’s Aegean coast, authorities announced on Sunday. The migrants were victims of the controversial “pushback” practice of Greece they tried to reach. Türkiye and global rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back asylum seekers into Turkish waters, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.
The coast guard said it rescued 57 irregular migrants in total, including 35 from a rubber boat off the southwestern province of Muğla’s Bodrum district and another 22 migrants off the coast of the Datça district. The migrants were later transported to the provincial migration department.
The proximity of Türkiye’s Aegean coast to Greek islands makes it a favorite destination of irregular migrants hoping to reach Europe. Some stay in Greece, but most look for ways to get to other European countries, particularly Germany, to pursue better lives.
As the European Union grapples with an influx of irregular migrants amid aggravated conflicts and hardships in source countries, Greece often resorts to pushback practices against international laws. Accounts of migrants intercepted by Turkish authorities, whether in the Aegean Sea or across the land border between Türkiye and Greece, show that Greek security forces often beat them and sometimes try to sink their rubber boats.
Aegean Boat Report, a Norway-based nongovernmental organization (NGO), paints a dire picture of the challenges migrants face. The September edition of the Report says arrivals on the Greek islands skyrocketed over the last three months, increasing by 266% between August and September, compared to the same period in 2022. The NGO says that the high rate of arrivals and insufficient transfers to mainland Greece worsens the situation in the Aegean islands. It warns that arrivals may further increase before the winter sets in when the irregular migrations slow down.
The report accuses Greece of “painting a picture that is very far from reality” by publishing rescue operations near the Greek islands. “Some might think pushbacks have gone down because pushbacks from land temporarily stopped. While pushbacks on land stopped, and numerous boats were picked up by the Greek coast guard close to the Aegean islands, pushback operations closer to the Turkish sea border intensified. Over the last three months, pushbacks have increased by 170% in the Aegean Sea.” It says that in September only the NGO registered 111 illegal pushback cases in the Aegean Sea by the Greek coast guard.
“Some 3,396 people, children, women and men, have been denied their right to seek asylum; the Greek government has violated their human rights,” the report says. Some “15 of these pushback cases were performed by using rescue equipment; 487 people, children, women and men, were placed in 23 life rafts and left helplessly drifting at sea. In August, the number of people being pushed back by Greek authorities in the Aegean Sea increased by over 100% compared with July. Since January 2020, we have registered 2,529 pushback cases in the Aegean Sea, performed by the (Greek) coast guard, involving 67,910 men, women and children. Eight hundred five of these cases were performed by using rescue equipment/life rafts, 20,618 people were left drifting in 1,216 life rafts in the Aegean Sea in the last three years,” the report concluded.
