More and more people are trying to reach the Greek islands of Crete and Gavdos from Libya. The Greek government has reportedly responded harshly, with warships deployed.

A cell phone video, taken a few days ago, on a beach in southern Crete, near the village of Lentas. “We’re doing a report there,” says the Greek author of the video. It shows a grey boat with two outboard motors that has driven up to the beach. Dozens of migrants jump ashore.

It’s one of many incidents currently taking place on the south coast of Crete and around the small, southern island of Gavdos. According to state broadcaster ERT, almost 2,000 people have arrived in the past two days alone. They are fleeing from eastern Libya, a journey some 350 kilometers across the sea.

While the numbers for Greece as a whole are relatively low, Crete and Gavdos are experiencing a dramatic increase. Arrivals here now account for about half of the country’s total. This year, the number has reached approximately 10,000 so far.

“This has never happened before,” says Vasilis Katsikandarakis of the Greek Coast Guard. “A real attack. It’s reminiscent of Lampedusa, I’d say.”

Improvised recording device

The latest incident: just Wednesday morning, a few nautical miles off Gavdos. An overcrowded fishing boat with more than 500 refugees on board. Memories of an accident two years ago are awakened. Back then, a boat with presumably more than 700 passengers sank off the Greek coast. The coast guard is facing serious accusations of causing the shipwreck.

This time: a joint rescue operation by the Greek Coast Guard, together with aircraft from the EU border agency Frontex, and a cargo ship. Initially, the plan was to bring the refugees to the port town of Chora Sfakíon, with its population of just over 300, but then a different decision was made.

“The situation is currently out of control. As much as we would like to, there’s nothing we can do about it,” says Mayor Giannis Zervós. “It’s not possible to accommodate any more people in humane conditions.

“He is also referring to the improvised reception facilities on Crete. There are no official camps. In an exhibition hall in Chania, around 850 people are currently sleeping on mattresses on the floor. It’s full. And so this time, the newly rescued are being transported directly to the mainland near Athens on a cargo ship.

The border is more difficult to monitor

For the Greek government, the escape route to Crete and Gavdos is also a problem because the border is more difficult to monitor. Off the Aegean islands such as Lesbos and Samos, there have allegedly been repeated illegal pushbacks by the coast guard back toward Turkey.

No other country is taking responsibility for the approach to Libya; these are international waters. Negotiations with General Khalifa Haftar in eastern Libya, from where the boats depart, have just failed.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis now intends to respond with tougher measures against refugees. Asylum applications from new arrivals from North Africa will initially be suspended for three months. “Immigrants who enter our country illegally will be arrested and detained,” the prime minister said. “We also want to create one or two closed facilities on Crete to combat this phenomenon on the ground.”

Warships in action

To act as a deterrent in the sea area toward Libya, Greece has deployed at least two large warships. They are to locate boats and relay information about them to the port authorities.

But Greece and the EU know that without cooperation with Libya, the escape route will be almost impossible to control. Many migrants will continue to risk the dangerous crossing. A tragedy like the one two years ago, with hundreds of deaths, could easily repeat itself.

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