A man removes the engine from a refugee's boat just moments after it landed on the beach in Kos. The operation is a daily occurrence on the island, with other more violent thefts reported near other Greek islands.
by Cody Punter/Kos, Greece
Every morning a group of volunteers from a Dutch non-profit in Kos sets out in the early morning hours searching for refugees arriving on Greek island after a treacherous journey across choppy Mediterranean waters.
Carrying fresh fruit, blankets and warm clothes, they are the de facto first responders for many arrivals and in many cases the first people to greet refugees upon finally reaching the safety of Europe.
But while they rush to the water’s edge to help the desperate people who have just risked their lives on flimsy rubber boats, a much more sinister presence lurks in the shadows.
As several boats landed on the beach in the glow of an early morning sunrise, The Borders In Between watched while a group of four men in hooded sweatshirts pushed aside a group of soaking wet Afghani men so that they could snatch the boat and the engine, which had just carried them to safety.
Two of them focused on detaching the small outboard motor and rusty battery, while another two carted off the boat. The motor and the batteries were fastened onto the back of a moped, which sped off into the early morning sunrise before the refugees have even had the chance to sit down they had disappeared.
The cold efficiency with which the boat thieves operated indicated that these were not just opportunists who happened to see a boat land by chance. Indeed, Steph van Namen one of the volunteers for the Dutch NGO, Boat Refugee Foundation, said he had seen at least 10 boats land since he arrived in Kos a few weeks ago. On every occasion there were someone waiting to recuperate the boats and the engines.
“A boat never stays at the beach, a motor never stays,” he said.
Every morning a group of volunteers from a Dutch non-profit in Kos sets out in the early morning hours searching for refugees arriving on Greek island after a treacherous journey across choppy Mediterranean waters.
Carrying fresh fruit, blankets and warm clothes, they are the de facto first responders for many arrivals and in many cases the first people to greet refugees upon finally reaching the safety of Europe.
But while they rush to the water’s edge to help the desperate people who have just risked their lives on flimsy rubber boats, a much more sinister presence lurks in the shadows.
As several boats landed on the beach in the glow of an early morning sunrise, The Borders In Between watched while a group of four men in hooded sweatshirts pushed aside a group of soaking wet Afghani men so that they could snatch the boat and the engine, which had just carried them to safety.
Two of them focused on detaching the small outboard motor and rusty battery, while another two carted off the boat. The motor and the batteries were fastened onto the back of a moped, which sped off into the early morning sunrise before the refugees have even had the chance to sit down they had disappeared.
The cold efficiency with which the boat thieves operated indicated that these were not just opportunists who happened to see a boat land by chance. Indeed, Steph van Namen one of the volunteers for the Dutch NGO, Boat Refugee Foundation, said he had seen at least 10 boats land since he arrived in Kos a few weeks ago. On every occasion there were someone waiting to recuperate the boats and the engines.
“A boat never stays at the beach, a motor never stays,” he said.
Using a pair of binoculars, van Namen said he one saw a man on a fishing boat, near a rubber dingy full of refugees, waving to the men on the beach while the two were on their cellphones. While he could not hear what they were saying, van Namen said there was no doubt that whoever was behind the stolen motor racket was highly organized.
“I don’t know who is doing this, whether it’s Turkish people or Greek people,” said van Namen. “There’s always scooters waiting and they’re always phoning each other. So I think there’s a whole network of people doing this. They’re always here before (the refugees) land.”
While waiting for another boat to arrive on the beach a man with a shaved head and gristly stubble said his only job was taking care of the boats. The man, who did not want to identify himself, told The Borders in Between that the boats were eventually buried and that he had no idea what happened to the motors.
Pakistani refugee Farooq Noor, said he has seen a trailer driving down to the marina chalk full of the dinky little outboard motors and paddles that looked like they had been recuperated from the beach.
“They are going to other cities to sell them,” he said. “I know it.”
Human Rights Watch recently reported that a group of masked marauders has been robbing refugees by gunpoint on the water, while attempting to make the crossing between Turkey and Lesobos. In total the NGO has recorded eight separate incidents in which assailants damaged the boats by removing the engines or fuel or puncturing the hulls of the inflatable rafts, according to an Associated Press report.
Some refugees in Kos have attempted to scuttle the thieves’ plans by gouging their rubber rafts with knives as soon as they land. Others have taken the engines and thrown them into the water so they can’t be reused, according to van Namen. On a few occasions van Namen said he had seen some refugees attempt to put up a fight in an attempt to keep their engines only to be met with violence from the thieves.
“One time they were pulling on the motor and the refugee was keeping the motor in his arms and the other man was holding onto his motor and so he slapped (the refugee) in this face,” he said. “After that the refugee was so shocked that he let go.”
Waqas Sherzad, a refugee from Islamabad living in Kos’ Tent City, is just one of many refugees who saw his boat and motor whisked away by people waiting for them on shore. After he paid $800 along with a group of seven other refugees for a rubber boat with a dilapidated motor in Bodrum, the engine conked out halfway through the trip and leaving them to paddle the rest of the way. When they finally arrived the ominous group of men came skulked down to the water’s edge to claim the boat and the motor that had cost a total of $6,400 between the refugees.
Sherzad said he was so relieved to be done with the treacherous journey he didn’t bother stopping them. “I can’t do anything about it,” he said. “The purpose is only to reach here. I don’t need a motor or a boat.”
“I don’t know who is doing this, whether it’s Turkish people or Greek people,” said van Namen. “There’s always scooters waiting and they’re always phoning each other. So I think there’s a whole network of people doing this. They’re always here before (the refugees) land.”
While waiting for another boat to arrive on the beach a man with a shaved head and gristly stubble said his only job was taking care of the boats. The man, who did not want to identify himself, told The Borders in Between that the boats were eventually buried and that he had no idea what happened to the motors.
Pakistani refugee Farooq Noor, said he has seen a trailer driving down to the marina chalk full of the dinky little outboard motors and paddles that looked like they had been recuperated from the beach.
“They are going to other cities to sell them,” he said. “I know it.”
Human Rights Watch recently reported that a group of masked marauders has been robbing refugees by gunpoint on the water, while attempting to make the crossing between Turkey and Lesobos. In total the NGO has recorded eight separate incidents in which assailants damaged the boats by removing the engines or fuel or puncturing the hulls of the inflatable rafts, according to an Associated Press report.
Some refugees in Kos have attempted to scuttle the thieves’ plans by gouging their rubber rafts with knives as soon as they land. Others have taken the engines and thrown them into the water so they can’t be reused, according to van Namen. On a few occasions van Namen said he had seen some refugees attempt to put up a fight in an attempt to keep their engines only to be met with violence from the thieves.
“One time they were pulling on the motor and the refugee was keeping the motor in his arms and the other man was holding onto his motor and so he slapped (the refugee) in this face,” he said. “After that the refugee was so shocked that he let go.”
Waqas Sherzad, a refugee from Islamabad living in Kos’ Tent City, is just one of many refugees who saw his boat and motor whisked away by people waiting for them on shore. After he paid $800 along with a group of seven other refugees for a rubber boat with a dilapidated motor in Bodrum, the engine conked out halfway through the trip and leaving them to paddle the rest of the way. When they finally arrived the ominous group of men came skulked down to the water’s edge to claim the boat and the motor that had cost a total of $6,400 between the refugees.
Sherzad said he was so relieved to be done with the treacherous journey he didn’t bother stopping them. “I can’t do anything about it,” he said. “The purpose is only to reach here. I don’t need a motor or a boat.”
Men carry away a boat after the engine and battery have been removed.
RSS Feed