KRG to return young survivor who lost all family members in Aegean Sea

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Friday will return a Kurdish child who lost his entire family when their boat capsized in the Aegean Sea late last year, the department of foreign affairs said on Thursday. 

Then 11-years-old, Rewar Rebwar’s parents and siblings had been attempting to reach Europe across the Aegean Sea when their boat capsized on December 23, killing both his parents and his siblings. Rewar, who has since turned 12, managed to escape death by holding the foot of a person who was trying to survive the incident.

KRG’s Department of Foreign Relations said in a statement on Thursday that Rewar was handed over to them by Greek authorities earlier in the day, “after making sure that he was in good health and his legal procedures were completed.”

The child will be returned to his hometown of Koya to live with his grandparents, as he requested, his uncle Rekan Abdullah told Rudaw on Thursday.

The dead bodies of the members of his family will be returned once their DNA tests are approved by Greek authorities, he added. 

Thousands of people from the Kurdistan Region have taken risky - and often illegal - paths like the Aegean Sea and Belarus borders to reach Europe. Many have died on the way. Their tragic stories dominated the headlines of the international media late last year. 

The KRG repatriated thousands of people from the Belarusian borders last year after their conditions deteriorated.

Many people seek better lives in Europe and flee unemployment, corruption, and instability.