CULTURE AND MIGRATION

114 Culture and migration: a path towards cultural integration of refugees and migrants of movables is governed exclusively by the law of the country where they are situated at the time of the assignment”. 170 Sharia law in Greece under Ottoman occupation would have required express permission from the Ottoman authorities for removal of the sculptures, which Elgin did not have – the Firman, at least its Italian translation, did not permit the seizure. 171 According to the above mentioned, Parthenon sculptures were brought to England without the adequate “personal documentation”. This can also be the case for refugees. Due to the circumstances in which they are sometimes forced to leave their home country, refugees are perhaps more likely than other aliens to find themselves without identity documents. Moreover, while other aliens can turn to the authorities of their country of origin for help in obtaining documents, refugees do not have this option and are therefore dependent upon the authorities of their country of refuge or upon United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for assistance in this regard. 172 2. The journey of refugees can be really dangerous especially when this implies crossing the sea. 173 The journey of the Parthenon sculptures also proved to be dangerous. On the 15th of September 1802, Lord Elgin’s vessel named Mentor, set off from the Greek port of Piraeus, with the first port of call being the island of Malta. Apart from the 16 boxes of artifacts, or sculptures, a total of 12 men were on board of the ship. 174 Two days from Athens the Mentor ran into a storm and struck a rock at the entrance to the harbor of the island Cythera. 170. Winkworth v Christie Manson &Woods Ltd (1980) Ch. 496, p. 513, quoting Cheshire & North’s Private International Law, 10th ed. (1979), p. 527 [As quoted in G. Robertson QC, Prof. N. Palmer QC, A. Clooney“The Case for Return of the Parthenon Sculptures”. 31 July 2015, p. 44.] 171. G. Robertson QC, Prof. N. Palmer QC, A. Clooney “The Case for Return of the Parthenon Sculptures”. 31 July 2015, p. 44. 172. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/ excom/scip/3ae68cce4/identity-documents-refugees.html#_ftnref1 [30.01.2020.] 173. Regarding Mediterranean journeys we mention that although the overall number of deaths at sea in the Central Mediterranean more than halved in 2018 compared to the previous year, the rate of deaths per number of people attempting the journey rose sharply. On the crossing from Libya to Europe, for instance, the rate went from one death for every 38 arrivals in 2017 to one for every 14 arrivals last year. The toll was particularly heavy in the Western Mediterranean, on the route to Spain, where the number of deaths almost quadrupled in 2018 over the previous year. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/ desperatejourneys/ [30.010.2020]. 174. Ancient Origins: “The Mentor Shipwreck and the Disastrous Journey of the Parthenon Marbles to Britain”. 11.10.2018. Available at: https://www.ancient-origins.net/history/ mentor-shipwreck-and-disastrous-journey-parthenon-marbles-britain-002852 [30.01.2020].