Kurdish migrant shipwreck survivor says boats ignored calls for help

Julian Bechocha

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A survivor of the deadly shipwreck off the coast of Italy decried on Wednesday that their screams for help were ignored by several boats that passed close by, with two capsized ships in the Mediterranean leaving at least 70 dead and missing. 

Twin shipwrecks off the coasts of Italy’s Roccella Ionica and Lampedusa this week have left at least 70 migrants dead and missing. Most of the passengers were Kurds from the Kurdistan Region and Iran’s western Kurdish areas, as well as people from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, and Syria. 

Roya Mohedini, a 19-year-old survivor of the shipwreck near Roccella Ionica, lamented several factors that contributed to the tragedy, including being cheated by smugglers and having their cries for help ignored by several boats that passed by, as their hopes quickly faded in the deadly Central Mediterranean waters. 

“Two or three boats passed very close to us. We shouted and screamed for help, but they ignored us and passed by,” Mohedini told Ranj Pzhdary. “If it was not for the French boat that rescued us, none of us would be here.” 

The Italian coastguard on Sunday reported that authorities were alerted by a French pleasure boat to the presence of a “half-sunken” boat around 120 nautical miles off the coast of Italy. The French vessel rescued 12 survivors, one of whom died after disembarking. 

Among the survivors is Mohedini, and they are receiving treatment in a medical facility in Roccella Ionica. She stressed that the crew was deceived by the smugglers. 

 

 

Watch Mohedini's interview with Ranj Pzhdary

“The smugglers asked us to not take any food with us because everything was provided in the boat. We shared everything we had, there was nothing in the boat - no water, no food, nothing at all,” she said. 

Bakhtyar Ismail, a relative of eight who perished in the waters, told Rudaw on Wednesday that two of the smugglers are from the Kurdistan Region and the third is from Iran’s western Kurdish areas (Rojhelat). As the boat approached Italy, its engine exploded and punctured a hole in the vessel, leading it to rapidly start sinking, the Italian Red Cross told Rudaw. After the hole emerged, the boat capsized and all 76 migrants on board fell into the sea, according to Mohedini. 

The 19-year-old survivor said the blast was triggered after the captain tried to remove a box of supplies. 

“We stayed in the water for four days and no one came to our aid,” she said. 

Among the migrants on board were four Kurdish families - two from Erbil province and two from Sulaimani province’s Raparin administration - numbering at least 19 people. Eight members of a family of 11 from Erbil died in the waters, their relative Ismail said. He received the news from another relative who was on the vessel but was rescued. 

“There were two families of 11 individuals. They set off from Turkey’s Bodrum to the Italian coast. We were in contact until Wednesday afternoon. They said that they were in danger and would definitely arrive to Italy,” Ismail said from Erbil. 

The three surviving family members, a woman and two children, are in hospital in an unstable condition. “One of them is burned and in terrible condition,” said Ismail. 

The group left for Istanbul five months ago. They initially decided to return to the Kurdistan Region but then changed their minds, according to Ismail, who accused the smugglers of deceiving them by repeatedly saying that everything was fine and promising they would arrive in Italy safely.

He noted their connection with the smuggler, who was his point of contact, was cut off on Saturday.

‘No words’ to describe their condition

Concetta Gioffrey, an Italian Red Cross worker who gave first aid to the 11 survivors at the port of Roccella Ionica, said that the survivors “arrived with broken limbs and were suffering from very dry skin.” 

She said she has “no words” to describe the severity of their condition. 

“They were all trapped and had clear signs of burns. I have no words to describe the condition of the migrants who were brought to the port,” Gioffrey stressed. 

In a separate incident, the bodies of 10 migrants were found off the Italian island of Lampedusa after their wooden boat capsized. German aid group RESQSHIP said that at least 61 people were on board the sunken boat, adding that their crew was able to evacuate 51 of them, two of whom were unconscious.

The Italian Red Cross said it was “astonished” by the incidents, expressing regret about the fate of the migrants who drowned at sea and that their boats were unable to reach their destination safely.

Hassan Mala Nabi, from Raparin administration, said his sister, brother-in-law, and two daughters were in the boat. They are all missing.

“My sister was pregnant and due to give birth next month,” Nabi lamented. 

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Tuesday said it will dispatch a delegation to Italy to assist survivors who were on board the capsized migrant ship, under the directive of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.

It also attached hotlines for those who lost their loved ones to call and provide information. 

 

 

Tens of thousands of people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region take on perilous routes out of the country towards Europe on a yearly basis in hopes of escaping the endless crises in the conflict-ridden country, including the lack of employment, political instability, a fragile economy, and rampant corruption.

Among all the routes taken, the Central Mediterranean between the coast of North Africa and Italy and Malta is the deadliest in the world.

According to data from Italy’s interior ministry obtained by AFP news agency, arrivals to the country have dropped significantly since the beginning of the year, with 24,100 migrants arriving so far this year, compared to 57,500 in the same period in 2023. 

Around 20,000 people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region migrated out of the country in the pursuit of greener pastures in 2023, with at least nine losing their lives on dangerous and illegal smuggling routes, according to the Summit (Lutka) Foundation for Refugees and Displaced Affairs. 

In 2021, the Kurdistan Region witnessed an exodus of its youth, with tens of thousands leaving, bound for Europe in the quest for a better life. A number of these migrants met their unfortunate end on the freezing Belarus-Poland border and others drowned at sea. 

In December of that year, the bodies of 16 migrants who drowned in the deadliest migrant disaster in the English Channel were returned to the Kurdistan Region. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) at the time described it as the “worst disaster on record.” 

Following the tragedy, a survivor accused the British coastguard of ignoring repeated calls for help from the drowning migrants, detailing his horror as he watched as many as 31 people drown - an incident eerily similar to Mohedini’s account. 

Rudaw’s Ali Zalmi and Mohammed Izzedin contributed to this article.