A group of survivors of the deadly shipwreck off Steccato di Cutro has urged authorities to recognize their right to reunite with family members nearly a year after the tragedy on February 26 last year.
"We have been victims of a historic disaster that has caused the death and disappearance of dozens and dozens of people," declared a group of survivors from the shipwreck off the Calabrian town of Steccato di Cutro, where 94 individuals, including 35 minors, perished. They spoke ahead of the tragedy's first anniversary on Monday, February 26.
"We ask the Italian and German governments and all of Europe for help to see our right to reunite with our families recognized once and for all."
The appeal launched from a hosting center in Hamburg
In a video shared by the Italian association Mem.Med (Memoria Mediterranea - Memory of the Mediterranean) and published by Rete 26 Febbraio (26 February Network), which comprises around 400 social and migrants' rights associations, 14 Afghan youths speak out from a hosting center in Hamburg.
They explain that they fled Afghanistan due to the Taliban regime, which since August 15, 2021 "has caused disasters and problems, especially in the fields of security, economy, culture, and education, due to which the rights of children and women have disappeared, and schools and universities for women have been closed."
Also read: Witness in Cutro trial claims coast guard absent
Rete 26 febbraio, 'right to return for tragedy's anniversary denied'
In the video shared on social media platforms, one of the youths remarks, "After a year, we survivors are still suffering physically and psychologically. We don't have adequate housing and we live in different centers for refugees. Many are still waiting for their documents. For this reason, respectfully, we ask the Italian government and the German government, and all of Europe, to see our right to rejoin our families recognized for good."
"One year after the carnage, their right to the truth, to justice and to be reunited with their respective families has not been guaranteed yet," stated a post on the survivors' plight, featured on Rete 26 Febbraio's Facebook page.
"Moreover, many survivors like them have been denied the right to return to Crotone and Cutro for the anniversary of the tragedy, since this Europe that claims to welcome them is still denying them a passport to reach Italy for the commemoration," the umbrella group added in the post.
Also read: Female Afghan reporter among the victims of deadly Cutro shipwreck