LIANA SPYROPOULOU & GIORGOS MOUTAFIS
BILD AT THE GREEK-TURKISH BORDER
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| BILD reporter Liana Spyropoulou during her interview with Giorgos (55), a fisherman in Evros riverFoto: Giorgos Moutafis |
Dozens of plastic boats at the shores. Fishermen who help the
authorities in search and rescue operations. Villagers ready to help the
survivors with dry clothes and food. And more than 1.300 bodies buried in the
mud, at the bottom. Most of them are never to be found...
Its not Lesbos or any other East Aegean island. Its
Evros river, the alternative passage of migrants and Turks to Europe since the
Balkan Route closed back in 2016. The river of death...
At the Northeast borders of Greece, where Europe meets
Turkey, a drama unfolds.
The tragedy of the 37 year old teacher from Turkey
Ayşe A. and her two sons who drowned in Evros trying to flee from Turkey, is
not the first one.
“It wasn't the first
time. For us its almost an everyday phenomenon. You just don't know it because
media are not here yet. We are constantly witnessing people who try to cross
the river and they end up missing or dead. The boats they are using, are sea
summer toys for two kids but usually 8-10 people are on board. If someone falls
into the water or the boat capsizes, they will die for sure” Dimitris
Hatzigakidis (55), mayor of Marasia told BILD.
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| Dimitris Hatzigakidis (55), mayor of MarasiaFoto: Giorgos Moutafis |
Marasia village is literally on the borders between Greece and Turkey,
and the area in which most of the boats are arriving. The location Ayşe (37),
Halil (3) and Abdulkadir (11) wanted to reach to find a better future.
“Less than 100 people live here but we are trying to
help the migrants with everything we have. Dry clothes, food, milk for the
babies. You cant imagine how it is to wake up in the middle of the night
hearing babies crying and watch young mothers all wet – with temperatures
bellow zero-holding their frozen children... Its tough...”
And this is the good scenario. The other one is to find dead bodies of
people who were lost in the the river without anyone knowing who they were,
where they came from and when it happened...
“The missing people from the recent tragedy will be
found in months... Somewhere... Maybe” the mayor says and he adds
“unfortunately together with others from other boats, from other tragedies we
are not aware of”.
In less than 30 meters its turkish territory. Red
signs. “Restricted area”. You cannot see an actual border line.
“This side of the
river is ours. From the middle and on is Turkey”. Giorgos, the 55 year old
fisherman took us with him, on his wooden boat. “Evros river does not forgive
mistakes. I ve helped the authorities many times to find the people. Most of
the time we find dead bodies. And many kids... My heart breaks when I see them
and then I have to carry them to the coast...”
Giorgos points on the other side. “She that boat over
there? Its the one with the mother and her two sons. You see the other one over
there? Its from last week. I am telling you, its an every day fight. We are
just forgotten up here at the borders and no-one knows or cares...”
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| A deflated dinghy is seen in Evros riverFoto: Giorgos Moutafis |
There
is one man who knows and cares. Pavlos Pavlidis is a Professor of Forensic
Medicine in the Alexandroupolis Hospital. He is the one who receives all the
bodies from Evros area to perform the autopsies, takes the DNA samples and
creates files for each case.
Inside a box he keeps in separate small transparent
bags with numbers, the personal belongings of the victims. Rings, bracelets,
broken phones, photos... Next door some of the owners of these small items are
placed in bigger bags. Also with numbers on them. They are unidentified...
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| Pavlos Pavlidis is a Professor of Forensic Medicine in the Alexandroupolis HospitalFoto: Giorgos Moutafis |
“Im
keeping their belongings here in case someday a mother is looking for her son
and maybe she will identify him... Evros is an extremely difficult river with
muddy bottom. Most of the bodies that end up there are never to be found. My
estimation is that more than 1.300 people lost their lives the recent years in
both Greek and Turkish sides and we will never find them” Professor Pavlidis
told BILD.
A few months ago a grandfather lost his two
grandchildren and his son in law and in Evros. They were in the same boat. He
was the only one who made it alive to the coast. He is still looking for them.
The search and rescue teams haven't found them. And the media never wrote anything...
According to the official data of the
Turkish armed forces, they have caught only in 2017 more than 20 thousand Turks
or migrants from other countries (20.014) who were trying to cross the borders
with Greece via Evros. The total number of the arrested people in the area from
all the authorities of all the states (Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria) exceeds the
60.000...
20/2/2018
