June 14th, 2023
On 14 June 2023, at least 600 people drowned off the Greek coastal town of Pylos in the deadliest shipwreck in the Mediterranean of all times – while the Hellenic Coast Guard was watching. Numerous maritime rescue coordination centres, different coast guards and the EU border agency Frontex had been informed about the boat in distress many hours earlier. A vessel of the Hellenic Coast Guard had even been at the scene of distress for hours. But the completely overcrowded «Adriana», carrying around 750 people, was not rescued. According to reports from survivors, it sank when the Hellenic Coast Guard tried to pull the boat with a rope. Was this an unsuccessful attempt to tow the boat out of the Greek rescue zone and towards Italian waters, as some survivors believed? There are many factors that speak for this scenario. One thing is clear: Pylos was not an accident, it was another massacre at sea. It was the consequence of EU migration policy and escalating brutalisation of border enforcement at sea, on land, and in the public discourse.
After a brief public outcry, the Pylos massacre has disappeared from public debates and reporting. Justice remains a distant prospect. The role of the Greek authorities is not being seriously scrutinised by the Greek justice system, and certainly not by politicians: the Greek Prime Minister defends the (in-)actions on television and instead blames the passengers. For hundreds, even thousands of relatives and survivors, what remains is pain. Meanwhile, nine of the survivors were accused of being smugglers. This is yet another clear example of the escalating criminalisation of migration and migrants. In Greece alone, over 2,000 people are imprisoned for driving a boat or cars, for taking over coordination in moments of distress, for helping out with language skills or for trying to provide some safety in moments of severe insecurity. A year after the Pylos shipwreck, the Greek state carries out pushbacks with impunity as frequently as ever.
CommemorAction 