Islamic prayers at Chios graveyard after the community burial of a 95-year-old lady from Afghanistan (image copyright RBB)

by E. Mark Windle

“The hospital room was filled with injured people, bodies wrapped in bandages, quiet sobs and swollen faces. A father had his injured daughter sitting beside him. The younger child was close, silent and shaken. The father’s face was streaked with tears as he spoke. His 15-year-old son was killed, and his pregnant wife lost their baby in the boat collision. She had been taken to the intensive care unit. While a nurse said she was alive, he didn’t know if she was okay.”

Ruhi Loren Akhtar

RBB Founder and CEO

With the story first picked up by the Associated Press and published by The Guardian on Tuesday 3 February, the headline ran: “Collision between Greek coastguard patrol and migrant boat kills 14”. At that time there was no comment or hint at who was at blame for the tragedy that occurred near the island of Chios. Within 48 hours, more details filtered through. Thirty-nine men, women and children, almost all Afghan nationals, had been on board the crammed boat. 

Survivors were taken to hospital, but another individual died while receiving treatment. The coast guard claimed the small boat swerved and rammed their vessel. This was refuted by survivors, who reported being hit without warning by the larger vessel and being thrown in the water. The coastguard vessel had video facilities. No footage was taken. The numbers of the dead from this incident were high enough for the story to reach the attention of the world press. Perhaps now conscious that the eyes of the international media are on Greece, an internal investigation has been ordered by Greek Maritime Affairs Minister Vassilis Kikilias. As tragic as this incident is, it is one in a long line of similar cases that goes back many years.

Photo copyright RBB

A history of pushbacks

Chios and other Greek islands in the Aegean Sea are frequent destinations for displaced people fleeing war-torn and politically volatile countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. With close proximity to the Turkish coastline, reaching the shores of these islands is the first stepping stone to a place of safety, seeking asylum and a new life in Europe. 

Since the islands saw a peak in the numbers in arrivals around 10 years ago, there have been increased reports of pushbacks, the term for illegal and often dangerous methods of border management. Pushbacks at sea—where boats are prevented from landing by ramming, creating dangerous wakes, dinghy puncture and physical abuse—are not unique to Chios, or Greece generally. But witness reports of coastguard use of pushbacks are disproportionately high here; and the practice has been condemned by the United Nations and various human rights organisations.

Recent incidents at sea 

Given the ongoing nature of conflict and atrocities in a number of regions in this corner of the Mediterranean, there has been no hiatus in the number of attempted crossings. 2023 saw the largest loss of life in a single incident in Greek waters involving forcibly displaced people. The Adriana trawler was carrying 750 people when it was shipwrecked while being towed by the coastguard, leaving only 104 survivors. Legal proceedings are still ongoing.

The RBB team in Chios coordinating an emergency response 
(image copyright RBB)

More recently there have been other attempts to reach the Greek islands that have resulted in deaths following pushbacks, overcrowded boats or treacherous conditions at sea. In December 2025, at least 18 people drowned south of Crete after their dinghy capsized. The following day, the body of a 12-year-old boy with propeller-related injuries was washed ashore at a nearby island.

RBB emergency helpline

Across Chios (and on the other islands), Refugee Biryani & Bananas supports people after arrival and who are in distress via a 24-hour emergency helpline. New arrivals are often frightened of the possibility of pushback from land and may hide for days outside without food or water in the mountains and forests of Chios. Those particularly vulnerable are children, the elderly, pregnant women and the disabled. Physical and mental health can deteriorate rapidly. In such circumstances RBB offers practical aid and onward referral to other services. Between 2020 and 2025, RBB assisted 5,157 individuals with reaching the reception and identification facility on Chios and registration onto the asylum-seeking system.

Supporting the family members of the missing and bereaved

RBB plays a vital role in helping families file missing persons reports with the relevant authorities in Chios. In the Adriana incident, only 82 bodies were recovered, leaving over 560 unaccounted for. We immediately responded after being contacted by working with people to locate the deceased, deal with DNA testing procedures, and to identify missing relatives. 

The bereaved also receive financial and practical assistance from RBB for memorials, funeral services and burials. Following the death of one woman from Somalia after arrival in Chios, we were there for relatives when they came to identify her body. Funds were collected and made available for repatriation of her body, and a memorial service was arranged. RBB has been involved in numerous other cases of repatriation and burial, either directly or by signposting to appropriate legal, psychosocial and community-led organisations.

Flowers placed by the RBB team at Chios port in memory of Huda, whose body was returned to Somalia after border violence and sustained threats 
(image copyright RBB)

Raising awareness and responding to ongoing incidents

An important RBB objective is to raise agency and public awareness of the practice of pushbacks at sea and on land. CEO Ruhi Akhtar has met with international aid organisations, UN Special Rapporteurs and representatives of the European parliament to discuss incidences of pushbacks as well as the unjust criminalisation of human rights advocates who provide a service in this area.

“Three little girls—Asma, aged 10, Vusra, aged 6, and Mena, aged 4 are laid to rest in these graves. The young sisters died in the Mediterranean on 8 April 2024. Their mama was one of 19 people rescued who survived the sinking boat. But how do you survive losing three of your children? Mama was moved to mainland Greece by the authorities and had to leave her children behind on Chios.”

Amber Bauer

RBB Chairperson

ForRefugees CEO

At the time of writing, in the latest incident involving the Greek coast guard and a boat carrying people who were seeking their legal right of asylum, 15 people are dead and 24 others—including children—remain hospitalised. Two pregnant women have lost their babies, and others are still missing. There is much work to be done here on Chios but RBB will be there for the frightened, the injured and the bereaved. As Ruhi says:

“We have supported more than 30 funerals here in Greece. We have repatriated people to their families. And now we are facing more lives lost. Right now, the RBB team — many of whom are from refugee and asylum-seeking communities themselves — are preparing to do whatever it takes to bring comfort to those affected by the latest tragedy. We will support the funerals of those who lost their lives and stand with their families in whatever ways we can — to ensure dignity, care, and respect at a moment of unimaginable loss.”

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