Lebanon, which since 2019 has been mired in an economic crisis described by the World Bank as one of the worst in modern times, has become a hotbed for illegal immigration, with its own citizens joining Syrian and Palestinian refugees who cry out to leave their homeland. About 150 people, mostly Lebanese and Syrian, were on board the small boat that went down on Thursday off the Syrian city of Tartus. “Seventy-seven people have died,” Syrian Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabash told state television from Al-Wasel Hospital in Tartous, where he said 20 survivors were being treated, eight of them in critical condition. Of those rescued, five were Lebanese, Lebanon’s acting transport minister Ali Hami told AFP. Tartus is the southernmost of Syria’s main ports and is located about 50 kilometers north of the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli, where the migrants had boarded. “We are dealing with one of the biggest rescue operations ever,” Sulaiman Khalil, an official at Syria’s transport ministry, told AFP as the search for survivors continued. “We are covering a large area that stretches along the entire Syrian coast,” he said, adding that high waves were hampering their efforts. Russian ships were assisting in search operations, according to Syrian authorities. Rana Merhi of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent said the identified bodies would be taken to a border crossing to be handed over to the Lebanese Red Cross. “Some of the relatives of the victims came from Lebanon … to identify the dead,” said Ahmed Ammar, a Tartus health official. Many of the Lebanese passengers on board come from impoverished areas in the north of the country, including Tripoli. “Remember these people had families they cared about and dreams they wanted to achieve,” the European Council for Refugees and Exiles tweeted on Friday. The city has emerged as a hub for illegal immigration, with most migrant boats departing from its shores. Among the survivors was Wissam al-Talawi, a resident of Tripoli who was being treated in a hospital, his brother Ahmad told AFP. However, the bodies of Wisham’s two daughters, aged five and nine, had been returned to Lebanon where they were buried in the early hours of Friday, Ahmad said. “They left two days ago,” he added. “(My brother) could not afford his daily expenses or the cost of enrolling his children in school,” he said, adding that Wisham’s wife and two sons were still missing. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent posted images on its Facebook page showing volunteers carrying bodies covered in bags into an ambulance. Another video appeared to show volunteers pulling a lifeless body onto the beach. Other rescuers were pictured searching for survivors along the coast of Tartus. From the continuous response to the boat sinking accident opposite Arwad, where the volunteers of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent have been since yesterday Thursday at the beach of Tartous for the rescue of the survivors and the transfer of the bodies of the victims. search operations continue. Posted by Syrian Arab Red Crescent on Friday, September 23, 2022 At the Arida border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, dozens waited for the bodies to arrive. They included residents of the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp north of Tripoli, where some of the dead and missing are being held. “I’m old, but if I had the chance to die at sea, I’d rather do that than live a humiliating life in this country,” one of them said from the crossing as news of the niece’s disappearance was awaited and his nephew. Since 2020, Lebanon has seen a surge in the number of migrants using its shores to attempt the dangerous crossing in overcrowded boats to reach Europe. In April, the sinking of an overcrowded migrant boat pursued by the Lebanese navy off the northern coast of Tripoli killed dozens of people, sparking outrage in the country. The exact circumstances of this incident are still unclear, with some on board claiming the navy blocked their vessel, while officials insisted the smugglers made reckless bids to escape. Many of the bodies were never recovered. On September 13, Turkey’s coast guard announced the death of six migrants, including two babies, and rescued 73 people trying to reach Europe off the southwestern province of Mugla. They had reportedly boarded from Tripoli, Lebanon in an attempt to reach Italy. Most of the boats departing from Lebanon head for European Union member Cyprus, an island about 175 kilometers to the west. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 24,000 migrants have been reported missing in the Mediterranean region since 2014. The group says the Central Mediterranean is the “deadliest known migration route in the world”, with more than 17,000 deaths and disappearances recorded since 2014.
