Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigation – 25th of March 2015

Case name:2015_03_25-AEG6
Situation: Syrian refugees on Symi Island in need of assistance
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded (Last update: 14.04.2015)
Place of Incident: Symi Island/Greece

Summary of the Case:In the morning of the 25th of March 2015, the Alarm Phone shift team received a call from a person who informed the team that his mother and groups of Syrians were stuck and disoriented on the Greek island of Symi. He said that there were two groups, one still close to the coast and one already further ahead on the island. Both groups, however, got stuck and could not move on anymore. Moreover, they were without food and water. He also said that children were part of the group.

The shift team was unable to reach the Red Cross and the UNHCR due a Greek day of holiday. After also contacting the port authority, the shift team spoke to officers of the Greek police who claimed that they knew of the two groups. They stated that the groups had been taken into custody already. The shift team then passed on the information to the relative of the Syrian mother and asked him to verify this by asking his mother. However, her phone was off. The shift team sent emails to the UNHCR and in Turkey, as well as to the Greek police and the Red Cross.

A few hours later, the shift team received a call from another relative alerting them to a group stuck on Symi which appeared to be the same group. Despite several attempts both from the shift team and relatives, the information given by the police concerning the arrest of both groups could not be verified. On the 26th of March, the shift team spoke to a contact person in the UNHCR who confirmed the arrest of a group with up to 50 persons, already on Symi Island which was probable to be the group in question. The UNHCR contact person suggested that the group would be released on the 26th or 27th of March. The shift team contacted both relatives and asked them to pass on information on the release, once they had received them through their mothers.

Weeks later, on the 14th of April, an Alarm Phone member was able to contact the son of one of the mothers who arrived on Symi Island. His mother had made it since to Sweden and had already applied for asylum there. He stated that the group had been released after two days at the police station on Symi and had then travelled via ferry to Athens. His mother was able to leave Greece quickly and made it to Sweden where she reunited with her son. The Syrian family was very grateful for our support and announced that they would like to support the Alarm Phone in the future.