Recently, a wave of migrants, both Lebanese and Syrians residing in North Lebanon, had attempted to escape harsh living conditions and set sail for Cyprus in search of better opportunities.
Alarmed by the dozens of people arriving at their coast, Cyprus has been sending illegal migrants back to Lebanon. However, many of them, such as those on the last ‘boat of death,’ did not come back alive.
Searching for those missing at sea, the Civil Defense Marine Rescue Unit recovered the body of a child from the sea off the boast of Batroun on Saturday.
The child, later identified as 20-month-old Mohamad Nazir Mohamad, was one of the children who fell victim to the “death boat” that attempted to smuggle dozens of migrants, including women and children, to Cyprus.
The last boat to set sail was lost at sea for 8 days before being rescued. But those 8 days proved to be hell for families aboard.
With limited resources, babies starved to death and there was no choice but to wrap them in cloth and throw their lifeless bodies in the sea.
Mohamad was one of them.