Without answers from the official Greek authorities remains the case that has occupied the nation regarding the presence of 35 refugees-migrants on the east coast of Antikythera. They have already passed 7 days from Monday 5 July, which became known through reports from citizens to Kythera.News the news. Our website was also informed that Coast Guard forces were on the island since the morning in order to search for and arrest migrants-refugees. The refugees-migrants were found on the island the day before without it being known by what means they were brought there and from which destination.
And at the same time the few, just 20, inhabitants of the island were worried about the incident on the same day, we contacted the port authorities Neapolis (Voion Laconia) and Kythera as well as with the Headquarters of the Coast Guard to report the incident and receive information. In our communication we have received no confirmation and no denial about the event, while a Coast Guard officer told us when we insisted on finding out what was going on: «I am not authorized to answer you».
Finally, on Monday afternoon, the migrants-refugees were arrested and taken by a coast guard boat in an unknown direction. A photo we publish today confirms the presence of coast guard vessels in Antikythera.
What happened that day and the previous day, Sunday, seems to be reportedly known to the Mayor of Kythera Mr. Efstratios Harhalakis who was on the island of Antikythera until 1:05 p.m. when he boarded the barren line ferry F/B «Porphyrousa» to leave, apparently while the operation to find the refugees - migrants was still in progress. Indeed, we are informed that senior officials of the Ministry of Shipping had already contacted the Mayor giving instructions «not to leak any information, photographic or other visual material to the outside world». To remind at this point, that one day later, on July 6, we tried to contact the mayor in every way, but our efforts were fruitless!
In reportage of Adelin-FM Radio Station which maintains a blog and records what is happening in the wider area from Antikythera - Kythera to Laconia, states that «Coast Guard vessels and helicopters were seen both on Sunday and Monday». The Radio Station report also adds that in a communication with a source, the answer received was «Yes, we know, but the mandate is that we can't say anything». Finally, Adelin-FM was unable to contact the Municipality either.
The «quirky black» in the briefing went on for 7 days, and while another event was going on and it was the presence 5 Turkish fishing vessels at a distance of up to 1 nautical mile from the coast of Kythera. For the situation that prevailed on the two islands in the last two days, there was a reaction from the SYRIZA (six vessels of the Coast Guard-Hellenic Coast Guard, even the PATH 090 «Gavdos Island» arrived in Antikythera), (Santorininos - Dritsas: «Strange incidents in Kythera - Antikythera»), and from the Kyriakos Velopoulos of the Greek Solution (Turkish fishing boats).
Exclusive: The migrants were in Antikythera, they informed the authorities and more!
The information we had from the island spoke of refugees-migrants from Iraq who travelled from Smyrna to Antikythera. The approximately 35 people, as reported, were found at the Stavroto Bay, on the southeastern tip of Antikythira, perhaps as early as Saturday 4 July, as we estimate based on the data available to us.
The Aegean Boat Report has at its disposal audiovisual material that We are publishing this exclusively today and sheds more light on the darkness of the past few days. The migrants heard in two videos, according to the information we have, speak the dialect sorani the Kurdish language spoken by Kurds in northern Iraq. In the two videos we are posting, migrants say the following:
Video A
«Kids, don't let anyone leave. Over there, hide. I'm talking to you. Hide. Don't record any videos.»
Video B
«As you can see over there, the engine stopped during the night; we had less than ten hours to reach Italian waters… We’re now in Greece, at the border, at the very edge of Greece. We’re now waiting to call the Italian police in the hope that they’ll come pick us up, or the Greek police.».
Migrants report in messages they post on social media that they are a group of Iraqi and Iranian nationals who have been in Antikythira for two days (From Saturday, July 3, to Monday, July 5, 2021).
They call 112. The Coast Guard can't locate them.
According to our sources, the refugees and migrants They had called the Single Emergency Number 112 while they were still on the boat (location unknown) as they were trying to reach land. Perhaps the Coast Guard tried to find them but to no avail because they had already reached land. Two days later, on Sunday, when they realized the situation—with no more food or water— They contacted the police and gave them directions on how to find them. It appears that the port authorities then met them and escorted them to the port of Potamos Antikythira. We quote the GPS geographic footprint as they made their way from the cove Cross-shaped in River Antikythira. From there on, the rest of the story is well known. Until their evacuation from the island of Antikythira by Coast Guard vessels.
Where were the refugees and migrants taken by the Coast Guard?;
The Greek authorities have never provided any information about what happened to the 35 people. It is completely unknown what has become of these people. However, there is a statement from the Turkish Coast Guard that late on Monday night, the 5thof July 2021, 11:40 p.m., «37 undocumented migrants were rescued and 2 suspected smugglers were arrested on 2 lifeboats, which were returned to Turkish territorial waters by the Greek Coast Guard.». Could these two incidents be related? Only the Coast Guard Headquarters can confirm or deny this. «35 people »disappeared" 7 days ago, and there is still no answer.
Residents of Kythira and Antikythira are demanding answers
The case involving the immigrants of Antikythira, as it turned out, and then for the second year in a row Significant presence of Turkish fishing vessels in Kythira (as is the case throughout the Aegean, according to the report by militaire.gr) have been on the minds of the residents of the two remote islands over the past week, raising questions and concerns, while The Greek government claimed that it was unaware of the situation, or that nothing was going on, or—once again—that the weather and the strong winds were to blame for what was happening…
Transparency and communication are required.
So what's happening at the southwestern tip of the country? We're in Kythira and Antikythira, an ethnically sensitive region, with particular interest and wealth-generating potential. An area that brings together the interest from major energy companies, but also an area that has recently faced the challenges of «her »blue revisionists” Turkey. And while all this is happening, The Greek government remains silent.... He doesn't know, he doesn't confirm, or... it doesn't really matter because “it's been a while”... Will our country’s institutional representatives finally come forward to respond to us, even at this late stage? What has become of the migrants from Antikythira?; Are they being housed in a facility? Have they been returned? Since the prime minister stated a few days ago in the newspaper Daily If he rejects the concept of “pushback” and says that the word isn’t in his vocabulary, where are these migrants?; And when the government is asked what is going on with the Turkish fishing boats that come within one nautical mile of the coast of Kythira, why doesn’t it respond?; Repeated absences from one’s position of responsibility and accountability carry the risk of leading to abdication. They must take this very seriously, because history does not forgive such actions. No matter how much one chooses to hide or turn a deaf ear, the questions will always haunt them.
