KARACHI: The relatives of migrants feared to be on the boat that capsized and sank off southern Greece on Wednesday are desperately awaiting “good news” about the well-being of their loved ones.

The relatives, most of them in faraway countries like Pakistan and Syria have nothing but grim accounts of pain and grief to share. With hundreds still missing — and no chances of survivors anymore — many might not be able to see their friends and family members who were on the boat.

Mohammed Yunis, a Pakistani taxi driver living in the UK for over four decades told The Guardian he lost 45 relatives, including his brother Yousaf, in the tragedy.

“I want answers,” he told The Guardian outside the Greek coastguard’s headquarters in Kalamata in southern Greece.

Many in Pakistan, Syria unaware of their loved ones’ fate

In Mandra town of Gujar Khan tehsil, Shahid Mehmood also awaits the news about his son, Shehryar Sultan, who was still missing.

Talking to BBC News, Mr Mehmood said his son was brainwashed by the travel agent who told him “people reach [their destinations] within two to three days”.

“[My son] messaged that I am going on a boat and there are five hundred people and it will take five days,” he said as he demanded action against human smugglers.

Fleeing death, finding death

In Syria, the parents of at least four missing teenagers were also unaware of their children’s fate, AFP reported.

Relatives and activists have said that at least 125 Syrians were on board.

Iyad from Jassem in the southern province of Daraa said his 19-year-old son Ali was still unaccounted for.

“I have had no news of my son. I haven’t spoken to him. I haven’t heard his voice,” said Iyad, who works at a school and declined to provide his surname.

“His mother hasn’t stopped crying for three days.” The 47-year-old said he had heard of two Greek reports, one listing his son among the survivors and another among the dead.

“I still have hope that he will be among the survivors,” Iyad told AFP by telephone on Saturday.

Iyad said his relative uncle in Germany had travelled to Greece to search for the boy, but “it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack”.

A blind 15-year-old boy and his 28-year-old sister from Daraa province were also among those missing, their uncle told AFP, declining to be identified for security reasons.

In Kobane in Syria’s Kurdish-held north, Mohammed Mohammed said he too was awaiting news of the fate of his 15-year-old son Diyar.

“Every day, hope is fading of seeing my son again,” Mohammed, a tyre repairman, told AFP by telephone late Friday.

Mohammed said his brother had travelled to Greece in the hope of finding Diyar but was denied entry to hospitals where he had hoped to speak to survivors.

“People are fleeing death, but finding death” along the way, he said.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2023