On June 14th, 2023, an old fishing vessel carrying upwards of 750 people from Syria, Egypt, the Palestinian territories, and Pakistan capsized in the Mediterranean, with only 104 people surviving. It is one of the deadliest known fleeing hostile situations. Those aboard sought a new future in Europe and were reportedly heading toward Italy. The Greek authorities were first alerted to the ship around 11:00 A.M. They were told that the boat had run out of water and was severely overcrowded and then was given its coordinates. They made first contact with the vessel around 2:00 P.M., but the ship “did not request any assistance from the Coast Guard or from Greece,” according to a statement from Greece. However, several activists and NGOs have stated that they received information detailing the appalling conditions on the ship, casting doubt on the claim that they did not want any help. Greek vessels allegedly kept offering assistance to the boat, but they claim that the people on the ship wanted to continue on to Italy. Two merchant ships were flagged down and provided supplies to the migrant ship. Greece alleges that during this time the ship was sailing at a consistent and stable speed. Nawal Soufi, a human rights activist who had been one of the first to receive any communication from the migrants and had continued to communicate with people on board, said how ropes were tied to the migrant’s boat, destabilizing it and causing a “state of panic.” The Greek Coast Guard said that they had briefly attached ropes to the ship but made no attempt to tow them. Soufi has stated that during her entire communications with the ship they had never mentioned a desire to go to Italy only or a refusal of Greek aid. In the early morning, the ship apparently lost engine power, and when the Greek ship got close to inspect it, the vessel capsized in less than a minute. More than 500 people are feared to have drowned.

The survivors who had been rescued had helped the authorities identify the human traffickers who had organized the journey, and nine have been arrested so far. The Greek narrative has been centered around casting blame on the human traffickers who had organized the endeavor, with conservative leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis labeling them as “human scum.” The Greek Coast Guard has also defended its handling of the situation, stating how the migrants had refused any assistance from them and that the vessel was still on track to Italy. However, the BBC has received evidence indicating that the ship had not moved for seven hours before it capsized, which would contradict the Greek narrative. The evidence shows how the merchant ships that provided aid and the luxury yacht which eventually helped rescued survivors of the sinking were all centered around the same area for a long period of time. Because the migrant’s vessel did not have any tracking data, it did not show up on the map. It can be presumed that the ship was within the blank space for the duration. If so, then the people on the ship were clearly in need of rescuing, yet the Greek Coast Guard stood by. Maritime law asserts that you must conduct search and rescue missions if there is a vessel that is in danger, yet we see no attempt by the Greeks to rescue the migrants. 

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that “this is a European problem. I think it’s time for Europe to be able, in solidarity, to define an effective migration policy for these kinds of situations not to happen again,”. It is unfair to expect only the Mediterranean countries to assist with migrants attempting to come into Europe. By placing the onus entirely on them, you breed a certain cynicism which can lead to the systemic non-asistance that we see in so many of these countries. Instead, the EU must respond to these situations as a whole. An essential part of the union is the cooperating between nations, even when it is not in everyone’s benefit. However, when lives are at stake, measures must be taken to ensure that nation’s armed forces will not stand idle as hundreds who are simply looking for a better life perish.