One more night of tragedy in the Mediterranean
The Greek Coast Guard confirmed last night what we already feared: at least fifteen people lost their lives after a collision between a speedboat carrying migrants and one of their boats, off the island of Chios.
The numbers are cold, but there are stories behind them. Fourteen bodies – eleven men and three women – were recovered from the sea. One more woman later died in hospital. Among the twenty-five rescued there are eleven children.
“It was not immediately clear how many people were traveling on the speedboat,” the coast guard said.
As I write this, a search operation continues with four patrol boats, a helicopter and divers. Local images show heartbreaking scenes: people being carried in blankets, limping children guided toward vehicles with flashing blue lights.
The context that hurts to know
Greece continues to be that gateway to Europe for those fleeing conflict and misery. The short journey from the Turkish coast to the Greek islands is a journey that many undertake knowing the risk.
Patrols have increased. Expulsions too. The official numbers of attempted crossings have gone down. But tragedies like this remind us that as long as there is desperation, there will be people willing to risk their lives on precarious boats.
This is not an isolated incident. It is part of a painful cycle that repeats itself in our sea. Each number in an official statement was someone with a name, a family, a story interrupted in front of Chios.
The question that remains floating, like the wreckage, is how many more tragedies we need to see before we find answers that are equal to the humanitarian challenge.
