13 people missing as boat sinks off Greek island of Paxi on 11January 2020  19January2020

To Watch The Med 13 people missing as boat sinks off Greek island of Paxi on 11January 2020  19January2020

Dear/Sir/Madam            

 The International Federation of Iraqi Refugees-IFIR was contacted by the concerned families who fear that their family members may have drowned. They say they spoke to their family members one hour before they boarded a boat on the 11 January 2020, which was heading for the Italian coast.  Unfortunately the boat ran into trouble by Paxi a Greek island. The boat reported to have 53 people on board took on water and sank near Paxi. We understand that six coast guard patrol boats, two navy helicopters and four passing cargo ships have been engaged in the continuing rescue of the refugees. We have been informed that the Greek Coast Guard has rescued 21 people and found a further 12 bodies.

IFIR informed by the families that of the 12 bodies 5 of them are Iraqi Kurdish and 13 are still missing we ask MED to contact and put pressure on the Greek authorities to continue to search for the missing bodies and in any way possible to recover them as their families are in a lot of distress from this horrible tragedy, 

The families of the refugees are very worried they last spoke to their children one hour before the boat left Greece and despite trying to call them they have had no response.

Please see below the names we have been given with attached photographs.  Please let us know as soon as possible if those named below have been rescued or their bodies have been found.

Name                                Date of Birth Died         Missing     country

1-Sarkar Rahman Baram     20-03-1997     found body           Iraq-Sulymaneyah

2-Sherwa Ahmad Abdulqader       04-12-1996                                   Iraq-Sulymaneyah

3-Dyari Sabir Pirot               15-12-1996 missing                                     Iraq-Sulymaneyah

4-Shwana Hama Ameen Beirut      04-04-1980 missing                               Iraq-Sulymaneyah

5-Pshtewan AbBakir Ahmad   02-03-1994 missing                                       Iraq-Sulymaneyah

6-Kosrat Abdullah Baraim  01-01-1993 missing                                                 Iraq-Sulymaneyah

7-Zanko Lokamn Omer  08-04-2000 missing                                                          Iraq-Sulymaneyah

8-Ahmad Omer Muhamad   01-01- 1995 missing                                          Iraq-Sulymaneyah

9-Aras Ali Mohamed       02-12-1989 missing                                                     Iraq-Sulymaneyah

10-Mahmood Ali Abdullah       03-01- 1997 missing                                       Iraq-Sulymaneyah

11-zhwan xasraw               17-08-1996 missing                                             Iraq-Sulymaneyah

12-Sevar Sardar Star                  30-08-1998 found body                     Iraq-Sulymaneyah

13-Reben Abbas Mohammed   01-02-1995 found body                              Iraq-Sulymaneyah

14-Yousif Bakir Babakir          19-04-1999 founf body                           Iraq-Sulymaneyah

15- Xalat Abdulhakim        09-12-1992               missing Iraq-Sulymaneyah

16-  Nabaz Abubakir          01-01-1982                   missing Iraq-Sulymaneyah

17-Shakr Rasol Baiez   01-01-1993 missing                              Iraq-Sulymaneyah

We look forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards

Dashty Jamal

General Secretary of International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR)

                                                                                           

CC: Human and refugee rights organizations 

The Background to IFIR.

• IFIR is a free, humanitarian and International organization defending the universal rights of refugees, realizing the rightful protests of the refugees.
  • IFIR has a history of pride. Since its founding in 1992, in countries like Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Britain, Switzerland, Canada, Australia and Turkey
  • IFIR was on the frontline defending the humanitarian values, refugee rights. It has worked for equal rights and equal freedom of the individuals. It fought against discrimination and building borders and was for unconditional right of free movement.
  • IFIR tries to continuously broaden the human rights of the Kurdish and Iraqi refugees and that everyone has a fair share in a free, safe and a better life.• IFIR has helped thousands of people, protecting their rights and dignity, stopping forcible deportation.
  • IFIR is working to enable the acceptance of refugees from the above mentioned countries, initiating hundreds of campaigns to collect international supports for stopping the process of refugee deportation.
  • In its efforts, IFIR has helped many refugees to gain asylum and provided them with their basic needs in the countries in which they live without considering any religious, political, ethnic and nationalistic ideologies and motives.
  • Defending the right of refugees, IFIR has organized many demonstrations, protests and meetings in the European parliament, presented petitions to the responsible sections in the European countries.

• Rebwar Arif was the official secretary of IFIR until 2007 he has a rich history of supporting refugees. Thereafter at the first congress of IFIR the representatives of  IFIR from different countries appointed Dashty Jamal as secretary of IFIR.

• In February 2012 the IFIR founded a branch in Kurdistan in presence of Dashty Jamal and the deportees.
  • The IFIR’s headquarters is based in Britain and continues to defend refugee rights.
  In recent years:
  • IFIR has freed many imprisoned refugees.
  • IFIR has returned the body of many drowned refugees in the Mediterranean Sea.
  • IFIR searched for many missing refugees.
  • IFIR has helped many women and children who were victims of domestic violence and fought for them to gain the right of asylum.

• IFIR has constantly supported and given help to women and children placed in displacement camps in Iraq and Kurdistan.

IFIR will continue working independently from any political party promoting humanitarian aims.

15/01/2020