Syrians at Sea
Opinion Analysis by Hala Al Taher, Staff Writer
September 26th, 2020
All wars deprive civilians of their basic human rights, with no exception to the Syrian citizens who became victims of a civil war as a result of political unrest and violence. About 6,500,00 Syrians had no choice left but to flee their country in search of safety, survival, and enhanced living conditions. Recently, 1,072 displaced Syrians were sailed off at the Greek border and left at sea with nothing but inflatable rafts. The act was characterized as a vital breach of Article 33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention.
The term ‘refugee’ is academically defined as a person who had to flee their country due to safety hazards such as war, persecution, or natural disaster. Nonetheless, the meaning of a refugee extends beyond this definition. A refugee is an entrepreneur, a teacher, an engineer, a doctor, a child, a lawyer, and so much more. Yet we never fail to hear the phrase “refugees have ruined our countries”. It is not refugees who have negatively impacted host countries, it is the demeaning treatment of refugees that did so. How can one thrive without support and opportunity? Refugees are violated, demeaned, and in most cases unable to attain a work permit, yet it takes us by surprise when they have “nothing to offer” to a host country.
The most prominent convention articulated by the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees is the 1951 Refugee Convention. According to the United Nations Higher Commissioner of Refugees, the essential rule that binds this convention is the concept of non-refoulement. Non-refoulement is enacted under Article 33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention. It ensures that a refugee may not be returned to a country where one encounters critical threats to liberty and life. In this case, sending Syrian migrants back to the Syrian Arab Republic would be completely unacceptable, considering the life-threatening conditions in the country.
Moreover, non-refoulement is identified as a customary law today. On a larger scale, the Convention identifies States’ legal duties to protect displaced people and their basic human rights in host countries. Following the brutal decisions taken by the Greek authorities towards Syrian refugees, one may begin to question the power of International law. How seriously is it taken by European nations and when is it applicable? These questions are raised because the Hellenic Republic of Greece is in fact a state party of the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, yet it breached the most essential and binding article (Article 33) without facing any consequences from the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court. To be slightly more critical; are powerful states exempt from obeying international law rules that they have initially created?
The expulsions of Syrian refugees from Greece has been consistent since March of 2020 yet there has been no coverage from media outlets. The Greek government has been executing these commands confidentially and illegally. Consequently, the only sources regarding this subject are the victims, witness testimonies, autonomous watchdog groups, and the Turkish Coast Guard. These sources claim that displaced Syrians have been expelled from the Greek borders into the sea about 31 times since March this year. Not only is this considered a breach of the 1951 Refugee Convention, it is also a humanitarian crime committed by the government of Greece. Greek authorities must be held accountable for their human right violations towards displaced Syrians.
A Syrian woman, Najma Al-Khatib, shared a story regarding her experience with Greek officials on the New York Times. Al-Khatib elucidated that upon her arrival at Rhodes Island on the 23rd of July 2020, Greek officers detained her and her two sons. They were taken to a makeshift detention site, where other migrants were incarcerated as well. That night, Greek police sailed them off on inflatable rafts without motors or engines. Thankfully, they were rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard. Al-Khatib expressed “It was very inhuman,” “I left Syria for fear of bombing — but when this happened, I wished I’d died under a bomb.”
It has been significantly noted that several displaced Syrians who have already legally resided in Greece through the help of Non-governmental organizations, were also unexpectedly expelled from the country in a hostile manner. Families are occasionally separated and the Greek authorities express no remorse.
In Greece, refugees are brutally tortured. Human rights violations in the country include but are not limited to illegal arrests, deporting with no legal action, shooting at boats, and brutally torturing refugees at unknown sites. It is the international community’s moral obligation to respectfully host refugees, but unfortunately the international system we reside in today is built on political interests and not morals.