Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 18:01:55 +0200
Thousands of boat children travel unaccompanied to Italy
3,160 out of 58,000 people who have made the perilous journey from North
Africa coast to Italy are unaccompanied minors.
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19.06.2014
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ROME - Over 9,000 child refugees and immigrants have arrived in Italy by
boat so far this year, with over a third travelling alone and at risk, Save
the Children said Thursday.
Of the over 58,000 people who have made the perilous journey from the coast
of North Africa across the Mediterranean, 3,160 were unaccompanied minors,
the organisation said in a report titled "From Syria to Europe, fleeing the
war."
The majority of the accompanied minors -- many of whom were under five years
old -- were Syrian, and most were landing in Italy after long and dangerous
journeys though Libya, where they are exposed to "persecution, theft,
threats and violence."
Most Syrian families arriving "are middle class professionals, businessmen,
shopkeepers, farmers" who "fled Syria one or two years ago on a costly
journey, often passing through Lebanon and Egypt," where many spend months
"in precarious conditions".
"In Libya we were molested, they told us to leave... we decided to go, to
die at sea was better than the hell we were living there," 15-year-old Nadia
from Homs was cited as saying.
At the start of June, the organisation said around a third of minors
registered on arrival in Italy were then dropping off the radar, and Italian
charities have warned that they may be at risk of falling into the clutches
of organised crime groups or organ traffickers.
Italy's commissioner for missing persons, Vittorio Piscitelli, in April said
the missing minors "could end up in the hands of human traffickers, or
groups of paedophiles. And we cannot disregard the abominable practice of
organ trafficking."
Raffaele Milano, programme director for Save the Children in Italy, said "a
solution must be found as soon as possible to avoid other unaccompanied
minors leaving the reception centres, becoming 'invisible' and exposing
themselves to the risk of exploitation or violence".
The Save the Children report, published on the eve of World Refugee Day,
also included data on women, 5,300 of whom made the crossing since the start
of the year to June 17.
Favourable weather conditions mean that thousands of other migrants are
expected to attempt the crossing in the coming weeks.
Gil Arias Fernandez, the head of Frontex, the European Union border
coordination agency, said recently that "hundreds of thousands" of migrants
were currently in Libya and hoping to leave as soon as possible because of
growing lawlessness.
Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano estimated that number at between
400,000 and 600,000 people.
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