Alarm Phone experiences of the last 6 months
Screenshot of Google Maps by Alarm Phone
Admirable commitment from crews of merchant vessels who have been active in rescuing people from drowning at sea South of Crete – despite the pressure they face from Greek authorities to take the survivors to Egypt, where they are not safe.
Europe tries hard and uses a lot of violence to stop people from moving and crossing its’ borders. As Alarm Phone, over the years we have observed that the increased use of violence and surveillance only forces people to take more dangerous and deadly routes. One of the more recent results of the ever increasing violence of the European border regime is that boats start in the far East of Libya, aiming to drive the very long distance towards Italy. Only a few weeks ago we commemorated the deadliest shipwreck on this route, the massacre of Pylos, where 650 people died.
In the last months, Alarm Phone has been in contact with multiple boats in distress close to Crete or the small island Gavdos – all of them had started from Eastern Libya. With this text we want to shed light on the calls we received from this area during the first half of this year.
We want to use this opportunity to thank the crews from the merchant vessels who saved many lives in an area where the so-called Libyan Coast Guard does not care if people are at risk of drowning. More than once the Greek authorities tried to prevent these ships from reaching Greek shores and the closest port of safety after they had rescued people and taken them on board. They put the survivors at risk as well as the brave crews of the vessels involved, who are not equipped to accommodate and provide medical assistance to the people after they are rescued.
Forced returns to Egypt
We witnessed and documented two incidents where merchant vessels were instructed to disembark the people in Port Said / Egypt. These incidents took place after the EU had made a deal with Egypt in March 2024 which included €200 million to fund border management in Egypt in cooperation with the EU, despite the widespread human rights violations recorded in Egypt towards people on the move.
On the 24th of March, a few days after the EU-Egypt deal was publicly announced, we received a call from a boat carrying 160 people in distress between Libya and Crete. The boat was in international waters, located in the Egyptian Search and Rescue zone, but much closer to Crete than to the Egyptian mainland. The passengers reported a severe situation on board. JRCC Cairo was coordinating the rescue. They instructed several merchant vessels who managed to find the group during the night. During the rescue operation, two people were reported to have died. Afterwards, the merchant vessel steered towards Crete as the closest port of safety. Several people needed urgent medical assistance. However, the Hellenic Coast Guard refused disembarkation in Greece and ordered them to steer towards Port Said, which is what they finally did. The captain of the merchant vessel reported, shortly after arrival in Port Said, that several people were in poor medical condition and in need of urgent assistance. During the follow up work we did, we received reports that people were harassed in Egypt. Several survivors returned “voluntarily” to Pakistan as a result, where they continue to deal with the trauma they experienced in Egypt and on their attempted journey to Europe.
On the 15th of May, a group of 21 people called for help when being in severe distress in Libyan waters, close to Crete. The so-called Libyan Coast Guard refused to send assistance. They claimed the people would be in Greek waters by the time they arrived in the area. This is another example which shows that the so-called Libyan Coast Guard is either unwilling or unable to conduct rescue operations in a timely manner. The Hellenic Coast Guard claimed to have searched but not found the boat. Later, the people were picked up by the Athens Voyager, a merchant vessel. Despite various interventions to the captain, the merchant vessel company, and the Greek and Egyptian authorities, the people were forced against their will to Port Said in Egypt, where they disembarked. The forced return was coordinated by the Hellenic Coast Guard who had provided the instructions to the merchant vessel.
Egypt is not safe!
It is not safe to disembark survivors in Egypt. Egypt is not safe: neither as a country of origin for asylum seekers nor for third countries nationals in transit through Egypt. Repression is very high both against Egyptian citizens and foreigners.
According to Human Rights Watch, Egyptian authorities and security forces subject refugees and asylum seekers to arbitrary detention, physical abuse, and refoulement (forced returns to a country where individuals may face threats to their lives or freedom, and where they may be at risk of torture or other serious harm). Egyptian police have been reported to have arbitrarily detained Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers during raids, subjecting some to forced physical labour and beatings. Detained refugees and asylum seekers have also been reported to have been held in overcrowded rooms and denied adequate food and medical care. According to the Refugees Platform in Egypt, there are also reports of deportations to Eritrea after people had been detained in poor conditions and denied access to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to lodge an asylum claim. Recent reports of deportations of Sudanese citizens need to be further investigated.
To bring people to a place where they face human rights violations has been considered as a crime by courts in Italy. As well, doing so is in violation of a captains’ duty to assess the conditions of survivors, including the need to seek for protection.
Fortunately, it seems to be that forced returns to Egypt are so far an exception, rather than a rule.
The bold decision of the JULIET
In another incident of a boat in distress South of Crete, the crew of the merchant vessel JULIET acted defiantly, and refused to be complicit in the forced refoulement of people they had rescued to Egypt.
During the evening of the 22nd of May, we received information about a boat which had left Tobruk in Libya three days previously. We could not establish direct contact with the boat and informed authorities of Greece, Italy, Malta, and Egypt. At 04:45 CEST on May 23rd, the Egyptian Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Cairo called Alarm Phone and informed us that they had ordered the merchant vessel JULIET to the last known position of the boat we were looking for. This position showed the group to be in international waters, south of the Greek island of Crete, in the Egyptian Search and Rescue zone. Despite this, Crete was the closest port: 74 nautical miles away. The Egyptian harbour of Port Said was much further away: around 350 nautical miles. At 11:16 CEST, the JRCC Cairo informed us via mail that the people were found and rescued by the merchant vessel JULIET. Tragically, one person died in the water and the body vanished in the waves during the attempt to recover it. The JULIET steered towards Crete, despite the Hellenic Coast Guard not having agreed to let the people disembark. The survivors had to spend the night on the JULIET, near the port of Kaloi Limines. The next morning, on May 24th, at 07:57 CEST the captain of the JULIET confirmed that the Hellenic Coast Guard picked up the people and brought them to Crete.
Afterwards we were contacted by the relatives of the person who had vanished in the waves, who had been forcibly disappeared at sea by Europe’s cruel border regime. We are continuing to try and help them in their search for the body – so far without success. We mourn their loss and stand in solidarity with them. We’ll continue to do our best to support them in their search for clarity and justice.
We want to thank the brave crew of the JULIET who set an example of how to avoid further human rights violations for the survivors.
Our thoughts are with all the survivors, relatives and friends who lost their beloved and fellow travellers on this dangerous route. Our thoughts are also with the crew members of merchant vessels who tried their best to rescue and were confronted with situations where they could not save everyone. We will continue to stand by your side.
Overview on Alarm Phone cases towards Crete 19.1.24-20.5.2024
19.1.24:
https://watchthemed.net/index.php/reports/view/3215
A boat with 37 people was rescued by the merchant vessel RHEA Leaders in Greek waters under the coordination of Hellenic Coast Guard and disembarked in Paleochora, Crete.
20.1.24
https://watchthemed.net/index.php/reports/view/3216
A boat that had left eastern Libya and called for help on the 20th of January while drifting at the borderline between the Libyan and the Greek SAR-zone, Greece refused to rescue or even to support a rescue operation for a very long time. JRCC Cairo replied actively to a mail, saying Libya could not support and stated that Chania/Crete is the closest port. Finally, the people were rescued by the merchant vessel LIDER HALIL and brought to Crete, likely coordinated by JRCC Piraeus/Greece.
10.2.24
https://watchthemed.net/index.php/reports/view/3217
Alarm Phone received information about a boat carrying 60 people on their way to Crete. After trying to reach the people for several hours, we finally managed to establish direct contact with them in the late afternoon. They were in distress near the Greek island of Crete and calling for help. We immediately informed authorities by mail about the distress situation. There were already two merchant vessels on scene, of which one, LEOPARD, appeared to perform the rescue. The people were brought to Crete. JRCC Piraeus confirmed rescue and disembarkation and also local media reported about it.
25.2.24
https://watchthemed.net/index.php/reports/view/3218
Distress call from a group in the Egyptian SAR zone. The Egyptian Coast Guard appeared to put in a huge amount of effort to search for the group. Among other actions, they sent a broadcast to private vessels and instructed them to look for the people in the larger area of the last known position. The outcome was unclear, but likely the people were found and rescued near Crete and brought to the island.
25.2.24
https://watchthemed.net/index.php/reports/view/3219
110 people at the borderline between Greek, Libyan and Egyptian SAR zone desperately called for help. JRCC Piraeus refused to take action, as the location showed the group to be in Libyan SAR Zone. Instead they only forwarded the information to the so-called Libyan Coast Guard. The so-called Libyan Coast Guard first told us on the phone that they had. instructed a merchant vessel to take action, however, the merchant vessel left the scene. Afterwards, they claimed they could not contact the merchant vessel, as they “don’t have an international line”. Finally, the people got rescued by another merchant vessel and brought to Crete.
11.3.24
https://watchthemed.net/index.php/reports/view/3220
We received an alert for two boats which had left from Libya and were close to Gavdos, a small Greek island. Information was confusing, as we had no position, but only the information that one boat arrived and the other one was near Gavdos but still at sea. JRCC Piraeus said they sent five assets to look for the boat. Finally, it turned out that the second group had also arrived and was found on the island.
19.3.24
https://watchthemed.net/index.php/reports/view/3221
One boat that had departed from Libya called for help. They were in the Egyptian SAR Zone. JRCC Cairo seemed active and launched a search operation and instructed different private ships to support, but without success. The outcome was unclear, but we understand that the so-called Libyan Coast Guard reported to JRCC Cairo that they found the group.
24.3.24
https://watchthemed.net/index.php/reports/view/3222
A boat carrying 150 people reported being in distress between Libya and Crete, in international waters, in the Egyptian SAR zone. The passengers reported a severe distress. JRCC Cairo very actively coordinated the rescue. They instructed several merchant vessels which found the group during the night. During the rescue operation, two people reportedly died. Afterwards, the merchant vessel steered towards Crete as the closest port of safety. Several people needed medical assistance. However, the Hellenic Coast Guard refused disembarkation in Greece and ordered them to steer towards Port Said, which is what they finally did. The captain of the merchant vessel reported shortly after arrival in Port Said that several people were in poor medical conditions and in need of assistance.
31.03.2024
https://watchthemed.net/index.php/reports/view/3223
74 people called for help near the coast of Crete. Shortly after the alert, the group was found by the Hellenic Coast Guard and brought to Crete. Their last known position was already near the island.
01.05.2024
https://watchthemed.net/index.php/reports/view/3224
A group of 45 people very close to Crete was calling for help. They were quickly found, according to local media reports, and were first taken onboard a merchant vessel who then handed them over to the Hellenic Coast Guard.
08.05.2024
https://watchthemed.net/index.php/reports/view/3225
A group of 47 people were reportedly in distress near Crete. We never received a position and could not reach the boat directly. After more than a day, we found out through local media reports that the group was found and rescued near Gavdos and brought to Crete.
15.05.2024
https://watchthemed.net/index.php/reports/view/3226
A group of 21 people in distress were calling for help. They were still in the Libyan SAR zone, but near Crete. The so-called Libyan Coast Guard refused to send assistance, saying the people would be in Greek waters by the time that they would arrive in the area. The Hellenic Coast Guard claimed to have searched but not found the boat. Later, the people were picked up by the Athens Voyager, a merchant vessel. Despite various interventions to the captain, the merchant vessel company and the Greek and Egyptian authorities, the people were forced to Port Said, in Egypt, and disembarked there. The forced return was coordinated by the Hellenic Coast Guard.
18.05.2024
https://watchthemed.net/index.php/reports/view/3227
A boat which started in Cyprus and was sailing towards Italy got into distress at sea. We could never establish direct contact to the group. The people were found and brought to Crete.
20.05.2024
https://watchthemed.net/index.php/reports/view/3228
A group of 33 people were in distress at sea near Crete. On the phone, they said the Hellenic Coast Guard arrived at scene. However, the Hellenic Coast Guard claimed not to have found the group. They only referred to a case nearby, in which 33 people were rescued by the so-called Libyan coast guard. However, when calling the people, they just said they are ok and hung up. It was not possible to clarify the details.
22.05.2024
https://watchthemed.net/index.php/reports/view/3243
During the evening of the 22nd of May, we received information about a boat which had left Tobruk in Libya three days prior. After intense exchange with different coast guards, the boat was finally located. At 11:16 CEST on May 24th, the JRCC Cairo informed us via mail that the people had been found and rescued by the merchant vessel JULIET. Tragically, one person had died in the water and the body had vanished in the waves during the attempt to recover it. Despite the Hellenic Coast Guard refusing to confirm that the people would be allowed to disembark, the merchant vessel steered towards Crete. On the morning of May 24th, at 07:57 CEST the captain of the JULIET confirmed that the Hellenic Coast Guard had taken the people to Crete.
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Other sources:
Reuters report on the developments of this route: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/greeces-crete-gavdos-islands-see-surge-migrant-boats-libya-2024-03-13/
RSA report on arrivals on Crete and Gavdos: https://rsaegean.org/en/arrivals-crete-gavdos/
Inside Egypt’s secret scheme to detain and deport thousands of Sudanese refugees a research by Sara Creta and Nour Khalil from April 2024, see:
https://civilmrcc.eu/report/inside-egypts-secret-scheme-to-detain-and-deport-thousands-of-sudanese-refugees/
or: https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/preview-link/node/263401/349f3e67-dc39-4c12-9f66-8fe1094a60f2
EU-Egypt-deal: announcement on Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/eu-bolster-egypt-ties-with-billions-funding-2024-03-17/
Human Rights Watch Report on Egypt 2024: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/egypt
Human Rights Watch Report on Egypt 2023: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2023/country-chapters/egypt#2b4ae4
