The boat carrying the 60 or so Syrian migrants, Wednesday, Jan. 24. (Photo taken by the Cypriot authorities, courtesy of Mohammad Sablouh)
After six days and nights without water or food, drifting on a small boat, cramped, freezing and exhausted, some sixty Syrian migrants who set out from Akkar (North Lebanon) on Jan. 18 were rescued by the Cypriot coastguard on Wednesday. Rescued, but "in distress and dehydrated," according to a statement issued on Wednesday by the Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC).
"Three children and one adult were unconscious, while three other people had fractures in their lower limbs and were transported" to hospital, JRCC said, adding that some of those rescued were in "serious condition."
One of the three children, a little girl, died on Thursday, according to Mohammad Sablouh, a lawyer with the NGO Cedar Center for Legal Studies, adding that the adult is still in a coma.
Could the passengers have been rescued earlier? As early as Sunday, Jan. 21, the NGO Alarm Phone had warned of the loss of contact with the boat's passengers, after being informed by relatives and relaying the information to the relevant authorities.
JRCC reports that it was informed of the boat's presence at 4:30 am on Wednesday, Jan. 24, by a commercial vessel, the Folegandros, which was sailing 30 nautical miles (55.5 km) east of Cabo Greco on the southeastern tip of Cyprus. Interviewed by OLJ, Doros Polycarpou, co-founder of the Cypriot NGO KISA, which defends migrants' rights, wonders about possible negligence: "We informed the authorities on Saturday, Jan. 20, of the presence of this boat. What did they do to find it until they were informed by this commercial boat?" he feigns to question, pointing out that the coastguard has thermal imaging cameras and other cutting-edge technology to spot migrant boats at sea.
Another boat carrying 85 migrants, mostly Syrians, which left the Lebanese coast for Cyprus on Dec. 12, is still missing.
The number of irregular migrants arriving by boat in Cyprus from Syria and Lebanon continues unabated, as would-be migrants, mainly Syrians, flee their war-torn country or the difficult living conditions in crisis-stricken Lebanon. But once there, few asylum seekers are granted refugee status. At the end of October, more than 30,000 people were waiting for a decision on their status, some of them for several years, according to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Cyprus.
In 2023, the UNHCR office in Beirut identified 59 boats carrying 3,528 passengers, the vast majority Syrian, but also Lebanese and Palestinian. 29 arrived safely, three of whom were subsequently sent back to Lebanon, according to the UN agency.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.
