A 30-year-old Kurdish woman from Iran died after crossing into Greece from Turkey with her family on June 20, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported, citing the Rûdaw news website.
Mehni Nabizada had fallen exhausted after walking for hours in the woods and died near the Greek border town of Mandra. Her husband, Sardar Ibrahim, said he thought his wife was suffering from a heart problem while walking and that they had to take a break.
Ibrahim said his wife had an underlying heart condition and was exhausted from the walk. “She had difficulty breathing, so I carried her to the road and started to call for help. However, nobody stopped to help,” he said. “She died with her head in my hands and our two children sitting beside us. I couldn’t do anything, but just sat and cried.”
Ibrahim said the police took his children and him to a refugee camp and his wife’s body somewhere else. “They detained us for two nights and took us to a camp,” he said.
Nabizade’s body is reportedly in Alexandroupoli.
Refugees often have to walk great distances in perilous circumstances to reach safety. According to a news report by Bold Medya, some refugees walk 12 hours in water-clogged fields or forests until they can rest. In some cases, adults are accompanied by children, who they have to carry on their backs throughout the journey.