and 25 years.159 All were suffering from at least a symptom of cold, many from additional medical conditions (e.g. scabies or heart conditions),160 and some from injuries acquired during or following their attempts at entering the port.161 Despite this, however, they still persisted in their endeavor, seemingly determined to either succeed or succumb while trying to undertake a journey that would, in the end, only further expose their lives to risks.162 The process, specifically, which begins in the morning (around 10:00-10:30am), as soon as the first ferries bound for Italy reach the city’s port, is highly straightforward and involves two stages. During the first, would-be stowaways –either alone, in groups or with the “help” of smugglers– try to pinpoint and hide in any of the Italy-bound vehicles (usually lorries) parked in the port’s main area, before the latter can undergo pre-embarkation security checks and enter the ferries. This entails jumping over the ports short, external fence and rushing towards the vehicles of choice, while avoiding being detected by both police and port security personnel, as well as the vehicles’ drivers who, faced with severe penal repercussions if found knowingly hiding someone in their cargo, have been known to employ force, in order to avert them.163 Following this, those that manage to make it through this “game of cat and mouse”, –as this daily occurrence has been aptly termed164– then have to remain undetected while their selected means of transportation goes through the port’s second, and much more heavily guarded, fence, during which vehicles are thoroughly scanned for “irregular” passengers. The few “lucky” ones that manage to make it through this second stage, as well, can then commence their journey towards Italy and, perhaps, beyond. At its core, however, this is a highly dangerous and hopeless process, which, as mentioned, only serves to further expose already vulnerable persons to a range of additional, life-threatening risks. First is the constant risk of getting trampled or severely injured by the heavy machinery (including trucks and lorries) roaming through the port, as the rush to find and reach that “ideal hiding place”, while simultaneously trying to avoid detection, by necessity diverts attention from the broader surrounding environment. Second is the threat presented by the hiding spot itself, which including such diverse spaces as unventilated truck containers, engine compartments and spots near to the vehicle’ (at times, spinning) wheels, is but a tragedy in the making. Lastly, even upon successful embarkation on a ship, third-country nationals/stateless persons still have to remain undetected up to the point of their eventual debarkation, or face the prospect of their swift return to Greece; in which case the whole endeavor –which they undertake with nothing but a bottle of sugared water to help them make it through– proves to have been for naught.165 Indeed, on more than a few occasions the “lucky ones” have managed to arrive in Italy only to be faced with another wall, another barrier, and ultimately be returned to the place they so desperately tried to flee. Albeit, exposing the full stakes at play in this tragedy, this return has at times taken the form of their lifeless body –having succumbed during the arduous journey– being sent back to Greece. Such was the case of an unaccompanied minor –one of several– whom having to remain for two days hidden in a truck’s still functioning fridge (in sub-zero temperatures), was returned to Greece for identification.166 48