RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – Families of Syrian victims who drowned off Algeria coast, who have been Waiting their bodies’ arrival for an entire month, are waiting for the measure of the bodies’ arrival to be ended.
Doctor Muhammad Aref Ali, a member of a committee to retrieve the bodies, said that out of 12 bodies to arrive in Syria, 10 are from Kobani, one from Manbij and another from Latakia.
Ali said that the bodies of the Syrian migrants will arrive in their birthplaces within two days after a month being drowned off Oran shore.
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES ) formed a committee to retrieve the bodies of migrants drowned off the Algerian coast, meeting appeals made by their families.
Facing fate surreptitiously
On October 3, four boats, overloaded with migrants, sailed surreptitiously from Oran shores, as sources told North Press that the boat is manufactured to pick eight individuals, but it was loaded with 15 migrants.
Recently, due to the state of insecurity and dire living conditions, a group of young men from different Syrian cities, including Kobani, left Syria and headed towards Lebanon which was the start point to North Africa, most notably Libya and Algeria, then to Italy and Spain, and finally to Germany in most cases.
Many young men were forced to sell their properties to secure costs of such a journey that costs more than $10.000 each individual, not to mention the risks they may go through.
After hours of sailing, the families of the drowned migrants lost contact with their sons. However, one of the four boats reached Spain, while there had been no news obtained about the remainder boats.
At first, the families were shocked, but they hoped their sons were still alive. Unfortunately, news about the death of the migrants started to reach, as the number of deaths reached 18 ones, including 12 Syrians while the others were unidentified.
The presence of a large Syrian community, especially refugees from Kobani, in Algeria helped the families of victims to know the fate of their relatives and to identify their bodies.
However, these individuals could do nothing with the bodies, due to obstacles and strict security measures by Algerian government.
Appeals
Relatives of the victims said that the obstacles by Algerian government impede the return of the bodies, increasing their grief.
In addition, some of the families asked their relatives in Algeria to help them to receive the bodies.
Muhammad Shahin, co-chair of the Executive Council in Euphrates region, said, “We did our best to return the bodies to their families at the expense of the AANES.”
“The matter is not that easy. These people illegally went to Oran, and this greatly hinders the process of recovering them….We are to open all diplomatic channels to do so,” Shahin added.
From unknown to safety
In recent years, smuggling routes, most illegal and risky, to European countries have increased.
However, migration from Syria is increasing in general due to the deteriorating living conditions and security measures in a country ravaged by warring parties.
Hundreds of Syrians are still stranded in Algeria, willing to return to their cities, but many obstacles, the most notable of which is the illegal entry, foil attempts to get them back.
On October 20, the Commander in Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, called on those who hail from areas in northeastern Syria and stranded in Algeria to return home, expressing the AANES’ readiness to provide all necessary facilitations for their “dignified and safe return.”
The Syrians stranded in Algeria fear that they might be handed over to the Syrian government.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), reported in April that the number of victims of illegal migration across the Mediterranean and the Atlantic has risen to 3.000 people during the past year.
Refugees and migrants have few options during their journeys, especially in Sahara, exposing them to a high risk of abuse. Many try to cross the sea from Libya and Tunisia, often towards Italy or Malta, according to the UNHCR.