13. Lost and dead at the borders 89 On June 25, 2010, twenty-two migrants died in one night. Rainfalls had increased the water level and the strength of the river flow, and many people drowned. Sixteen corpses were found some days after on the Greek side (of the border), and transferred to the hospital in Orestiada. After following the procedures, a hearse carried them to Sidiro – a small village at the end of a dusty road, inhabited mainly by Greek Muslims. The Mufti, however, decided – probably in order to avoid reaching maximum capacity – to bury the dead undocumented migrants on a hill, outside the village. Sign of cemetary 2010: »Illegal migrants graveyard« »Unfortunately the corpses do not arrive here with a valid passport in their mouths,« the Coroner of Thrace commented. Most of the time corpses are found by hunters or fishermen of the area, or by patrols of the border guards, soldiers or Frontex. When a dead body is recovered, it is immediately reported to the police, who take all measures to register the incident and collect possible evidence. The corpse is then brought to the Forensic Medical Service at Alexandroupoli General University Hospital. After examining the body, the coroner takes a DNA sample for identification purposes. They then keep a record at the police station, with the fingerprints of the deceased, their clothes and other personal items. If the corpse is identifiable, some pictures are taken to establish his or her identity. The legally defined period for keeping a corpse in the mortuaries’ freezers is three months, but due to a lack of available space, or if the corpse is in an advanced state of decomposition, an immediate burial is usually granted by Alexandroupolis’ Public Prosecutor. Bodies are placed in cadaver pouches and handed over t o the Funeral Office. Each body is given an identification protocol number, corresponding to the police file, written with a permanent marker, in order to proceed with the DNA identification procedure, if needed. If someone is looking for a missing family member, they can request to take a DNA test. After registration, a hearse carries the body to one of the many Muslim cemeteries in the region (i.e. Alexandroupoli, Didymoticho, Agriani). One of them is located in Sidiro. The village’s cemetery began functioning as a burial place for dead migrants in 2000, when others reached their maximum capacity. The cemetery of Sidiro is a de facto cemetery and is managed by the Mufti without any kind of administrative supervision or control currently being exercised over him concerning the administration of the cemetery. He arranges the digging of the grave and the wrapping of the corpse in cerecloth, according to Muslim rituals. The body bag is buried next to each corpse. According to the Mufti, each corpse is buried in a separate grave. Finding the way to the cemetery is not an easy task. The only sign confirming its existence – during a visit in August 2010 – was a sign sprayed with guns indicating »Illegal Migrants Cemetery« and, beneath, »Muslim Community of Evros«. The land was plain. At second glance one could see that the earth had recently been dug up by a bulldozer. Two lines of earth, at some points small pieces of plastic were visible. Beneath each line there appeared to be one large pit. Each of the pits seemed to be large enough for more than 10 bodies. Ever since »Welcome to Europe« Network publicly denounced the cemetery as a »massgrave« for immigrants, a number of journalists have been visiting the mufti and the cemetery. Some changes have occurred: the sign has been removed without being replaced by a new one, the shape of the cemetery has changed, the earth has been removed and a huge fence was built around the cemetery, with a big iron gate as we noticed during our visit in October 2011. Now its form reveals the existence of more than 50 individual graves. The mufti repeatedly stated to journalists that he keeps a map of the cemetery, and each time marks the new grave and its protocol number. He admits, however, that it is impossible to identify the older graves. There are no signs on the graves, though metal signs have reportedly been used to indicate the protocol numbers. Burial expenses were covered by the Evros prefecture, with funds from the Ministry of Interior (now interior, de-centralisation and e-government). After the Kallikratis reform in January 2011 (where the prefecture was substituted by the district of East Macedonia and Thrace), payments have ceased, as responsibilities still have to be clarified.