On 10 November, a group of 46 people, including 21 children, were found after having run aground on a rocky shore off the island of Samos a few days earlier. One child has since been reported missing.
On 7 November, the Aegean Boat Report documented once again that the Greek coast guard abandoned 46 people, including 6 children, in life rafts under severe weather conditions outside Lesvos, thereby pushing them back to Turkey.
On 6 November, the Aegean Boat Report revealed that 48 boats carrying 1587 people arrived in the Aegean islands between the 28 October and the 3 November. In the same period, 57 boats (1611 people) were pushed back by the police.
On 5 November, Migration Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos said that Greece was considering setting up a temporary detention center for migrants on the island of Rhodes to deal with a surge in arrivals from neighboring Turkey. Between January and October, 5,500 people arrived on Rhodes, where they live in dire conditions.
On 5 November, the Aegean Boat Report reported that 612 children were found adrift at sea in October after the Greek coastguard forced them into life rafts and pushed them back to Turkey.
On 4 November, the Aegean Boat Report announced a difficult weekend, having received over 70 calls from individuals requesting assistance. Four of these distress calls at sea were reportedly due to Greek pushbacks. 30 people were left adrift in a rubber dinghy without an engine, and a further 37 people were placed in two life rafts and abandoned in Turkish waters. The remaining two cases involved boats heading for Lesbos, where the Greek coastguard allegedly cut off their engines, leaving them stranded.
On 30 October, 38 young Afghan children were forced into life rafts by the Greek coastguard and left to drift helplessly at sea. They were later locked up in an EU-funded detention center in Turkey, awaiting deportation to Afghanistan.
On 30 October, the Aegean Boat Report revealed that 54 boats carrying 1782 people arrived in the Aegean islands between 14 and 20 October. In the same period, 35 boats (966 people) were pushed back by the police.
On 29 October, refugees in Libya documented how the Greek coast guard forced migrant boats in Greek waters to enter Turkish waters and then be “rescued” on a Turkish island. These are illegal pushbacks.
On 29 October, the Aegean Boat Report revealed that the situation on Rhodes was dire, with hundreds of asylum-seeking families living in dramatic conditions.
On 21 October, the Aegean Boat Report revealed that 53 boats carrying 1677 people arrived in the Aegean islands between 14 and 20 October. In the same period, 28 boats (836 people) were pushed back by the police.
On 21 October, two people died after a shipwreck off the coast of Samos. The remaining 22 passengers were rescued by the Greek coastguard and taken to a closed reception center in Samos.
