‘Bulgarian police did not want to rescue underage migrants who were freezing to death’ (Frozen Lives report)
Striking news reaches us from Bulgaria as Bulgarian police there allegedly refused to help three Egyptian teenagers who were freezing to death near the Bulgarian-Turkish border in late December. This is according to a dossier of evidence that The Guardian was able to see. And this cruel action would unfortunately not be unique. In a robustly documented report, several human rights organisations highlight the atrocities committed by European border police forces.
The ‘Frozen Lives’ report exposes the handling of migrants at Europe's borders.
Bulgarian authorities are accused of ignoring emergency calls and obstructing attempts to rescue the three Egyptian teenage boys. They allegedly called for help after getting lost in the forests of Burgas, in southeast Bulgaria. This is according to an evidence file compiled by the two humanitarian organisations, No Name Kitchen (NNK) and Collettivo Rotte Balcaniche (CRB).
The boys, later identified as Ahmed Samra (17), Ahmed Elawdan (16), and 15-year-old Seifalla Elbeltagy, were all found dead.
The Frozen Lives report mentions also systematic harassment of the organisations' rescue teams. Their cars would also be damaged. For instance, windows were smashed earlier and screws were already pushed into the engine so that the car would not be able to drive, it sounds.
By the way, ‘dog prints and boot prints’ were found on the body of one of the boys, Ahmed Samra (17). Which, according to the report, indicates ‘that the border police had already found him, perhaps alive or dead, but had chosen to leave him there in the cold’.
(SR for Tagtik/Source: The Guardian - Nieuwsblad/Illustration picture: Photo by Anya Smith on Unsplash)