Despite blanket denials from Greek authorities, “pushbacks” in the Aegean Sea and Greece’ Evros border region are a horrifying reality. For years, the Legal Centre Lesvos has collected hundreds of testimonies of survivors of border violence. Together with Fitilia, we publish these anonymized* accounts, with the intention to show that behind every statistic, there is a person risking their life to reach Europe. While these stories highlight the brutality and violence of Greek and European border policies, they are also stories of resisting border regimes. They are a call to action – a stark reminder of the urgent need to continue the fight to dismantle the borders that surround us and with it the violence of Fortress Europe.
*All identifying details, including names and exact dates have been removed, however, the stories published remain true to the survivors’ own accounts, and all have consented to the publishing of their testimonies.
We were Pushed Around the Waves Like a Ball
Early in 2024, at approximately 11pm we left Turkey to reach Lesvos. We were 42 people, nine or ten small children, and 12 to 13 women. I was with my wife and four minor children (between 10 to 16 years old). The youngest person in the boat was a 7 month old baby, the oldest was around 65 years old. The weather was good. [read more]
“We Take You to Greece”
On 15 October 2023, I think at 8.30 in the morning, we left Turkey, heading towards Greece. The dinghy was not well pumped. One side was not completely pumped and we had to hold it up in the water. We were about two hours in the sea, moving towards Chios. We were very very close to the island of Chios, we passed the small island (Inousses), in the beginning we wanted to land in Inousses but because we were seeing everything clearly and we were sure we gonna make it to Chios, we unfortunately changed our mind and we continued towards Chios. [read more]
They took my wedding ring and my necklace
In October 2020 I was in Thessaloniki. When I was walking in the street, a motorbike, three cars and one black van stopped. Two guys came out of the car, they said they were from the police, but they didn’t have uniforms and were wearing masks. They showed me their police ID and asked me for my documents, but I did not have them with me. [read more]
I Will Never Forget the Fear
We left from Canakkale in the early morning. I think it was 5:15 or 5:20 when we left Turkey. I was on my own. September 2022. It happened more than one year ago, so I don’t think I will remember all of the details, but of course, I will never forget the fear I had at that time. [read more]
Just Two Single Men And One Minor Managed Run Away
We left from Canakkale, Turkey in a super cold winter night 2022. I was with my husband and my two- and seven-year-old children. There were 45 people in the boat, including 15 children and 18 women. [read more]
We Were Moving With The Waves
Our journey started in September, around 10pm. We left the smuggler’s place for Izmir. I remember we were exactly thirty two people. I wanted to know how many we were so if someone got lost or if our dinghy sank I would know how many people were missing. There were fifteen, maybe sixteen children, seven women including myself and around 10 men. [read more]
He Kept Screaming The Only English Sentence He Knew
One cold night in spring, around 1 am we left Çanakkale for the shore. We were 26, maybe 28 people. The youngest of us was a baby of maybe one year and the oldest was a sixty year old grandma. I think we were about ten women, ten children and five or six men. I was traveling with my seventeen year old brother. [read more]