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Image credits:Maria Kamma
The island’s mayor, Maria Kamma,shared the newsof the rescue on Facebook.
“The community of Tilos has once again risen to the occasion, lending a shoulder to the refugees. The locals are trying to cope in the best way possible with the ‘migrant crisis’ in their homeland and to help the suffering, the wounded and the distressed people,” Kamma wrote.
Videos of the rescue show the boy being held in an inflatable boat. He is now safe and healthy, according to local media reports.
The mayor mentioned that there had been “minimal” external help.
“The few port guards serving on the island have been through a lot of time, and yet they do not back down; they do not accept the loss of any human life! Two or three policemen have also been thrown into the ‘game’ in time to catch people alive.”
Watch a video of the rescue below:
Migrants come mainly from Afghanistan, Syria, and Egypt.
On Tuesday (August 20), authorities on the southern Greek island of Crete detained 76 migrants who arrived on three boats at the tiny island of Gavdos, near Crete’s southern coast. Migrants are detained for identification and processing, after which they can apply for asylum while waiting in refugee camps.
Human rights groups have long accused Greece of trying to push back asylum seekers and migrants, which is illegal under international law.
“During 2023, abuses against asylum seekers and migrants continued, including violent pushbacks, abuses in detention, and vigilante violence,” reads a report fromHuman Rights Watch.
“The government also smeared and judicially harassed civil society groups working with asylum seekers and migrants.”
The Greek government has consistently denied these claims, and it insists it complies with European and international law.
According to data from theUnited Nations Refugee Agency, 117.3 million people have been forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, human rights violations, or events seriously disturbing public order.
People took to social media to congratulate the rescue team for saving the 50-day-old boy
Renan Duarte
News
