Children on the Move in Italy and Greece
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CHILDREN ON THE MOVE IN ITALY AND GREECE ITALY / GREECE CRHILDRENEPORT ON THE MOVE IN ITALY AND GJUNEREECE 2017 ITALY / GREECE IPTALYRELIMINARY / GREECE R EPORT APRIL 2016 PRELIMINARY REPORT ITALY / GREECE APRIL 2016 IPTALYRELIMINARY / GREECE R EPORT Children on the Move in Italy and Greece – June 2017 Cover Photo: © UNICEF/Gilbertson, 2016 About REACH REACH is a joint initiative of two international non-governmental organizations - ACTED and IMPACT Initiatives - and the UN Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT). REACH’s mission is to strengthen evidence- based decision making by aid actors through efficient data collection, management and analysis before, during and after an emergency. By doing so, REACH contributes to ensuring that communities affected by emergencies receive the support they need. All REACH activities are conducted in support to and within the framework of inter- agency aid coordination mechanisms. For more information please visit our website: www.reach-initiative.org. You can contact us directly at: [email protected] and follow us on Twitter @REACH_info. 1 Children on the Move in Italy and Greece – June 2017 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Context Over 100,000 refugee and migrant children, of whom more than 33,800 unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) (34 per cent), arrived in Europe in 2016.1 In the first three months of 2017, 5,700 children landed on European shores.2 The vast majority of them entered Europe irregularly through the two main gateways to the continent: Italy, using the Central Mediterranean sea route, or Greece, transiting through the Eastern Mediterranean route from Turkey, mostly via sea. Once on European soil, Italian and Greek authorities should take charge of UASC, with the support of humanitarian organisations, local and international NGOs and volunteer groups. While there has been an increased focus on children in the governmental and humanitarian response to refugees and migrants in both countries,3 information on children’s profiles, child-specific drivers of migration and children’s lives once in Europe remain limited. However, this information is key to enable an integrated and targeted response for refugee and migrant children. To fill this information gap, REACH, in the framework of a partnership with UNICEF, conducted an assessment on the profiles and experiences of children who arrived in Italy and Greece in 2016 and 2017, why they left home, the risks children encountered on their journey and their life once in Europe. Analysis is based on primary and secondary data collection carried out between December 2016 and May 2017 in Italy and Greece. As the vast majority of children arriving in Italy are unaccompanied or separated,4 the focus of this study in Italy was determined accordingly; in Greece, most children arrive in the country accompanied, which is why accompanied, unaccompanied and separated children were interviewed as part of the study. In Italy, a total of 720 unaccompanied and separated children were interviewed in 72 reception facilities in Sicily and outside reception facilities in the key transit sites of Rome, Milan, Ventimiglia and Como; in Greece, a consolidated secondary data analysis was carried out, supplemented by primary data collection, including Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with 40 parents and 30 service providers, as well as 17 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with a total of 130 children, of whom 70 were unaccompanied or separated. Key Findings The assessment found that refugee and migrant children in Italy and Greece come from conflict-ridden countries and areas with poverty; all leave behind a situation where they feel they have no access to their basic rights as a child and do not see any prospects for themselves in the foreseeable future. For many children who have arrived in Italy or Greece, the journey is not yet over, as they aim to join family elsewhere. Others would like to stay in Italy or Greece to continue their education and build a life in the country. All face challenges in realising their objectives, as access to documentation, including asylum and residence permits, takes longer than they had anticipated and legal pathways are inherently slow. In the meantime, children lose out on education. Often, children do not understand how procedures work and why they need to wait. As a result, children lose their trust in the child reception system and attempt to reach their goals through irregular means, relying on smugglers and putting themselves at risk of abuse and exploitation. Profiles of children travelling via the Central Mediterranean route and of children traveling via the Eastern Mediterranean route are significantly different, reflecting Italy’s and Greece’s geographical proximity to North Africa and the Middle East, respectively. While children in Italy are mostly unaccompanied (91 per cent), boys (92 per cent), and children aged 16 to 17 (93 per cent) coming from a variety of countries in West and the Horn of Africa,5 children in Greece tend to arrive with family (91 per cent), at an almost equal level between boys 1 UNICEF, UNHCR and IOM, Refugee and migrant children – including unaccompanied and separated children – in Europe, April 2017. 2 UNICEF, UNHCR and IOM, Interagency Factsheet on refugee and migrant children and UASC in Europe Q1 2017, forthcoming. 3 Notably visible in the new draft law approved in Italy on unaccompanied minors and, in Greece, in the growing development of child-friendly spaces and growth of availability of shelters for UASC. 4 92% of child arrivals in Italy in 2016 were unaccompanied or separated. UNICEF, UNHCR and IOM, Refugee and migrant children – including unaccompanied and separated children – in Europe, April 2017. 5 UNHCR, Unaccompanied and separated children dashboard, December 2016. 2 Children on the Move in Italy and Greece – June 2017 and girls, and from all age groups. In addition, children who arrive in Greece primarily come from three countries: Syria (54 per cent), Iraq (27 per cent) and Afghanistan (13 per cent).6 Leaving Home Children in Italy tend to have made the decision to migrate individually, as was the case for 75 per cent of children interviewed as part of this study and, as a result, embarked on the journey alone. Only in a minority of cases (11 per cent) did children take the decision to leave jointly with their family, contrary to what the literature on migration of unaccompanied and separated children often suggests.7 Indeed, in almost one third of cases (31 per cent), children decided to migrate because of violence or problems at home and/or with their families. This was particularly common among children from The Gambia, as almost half of them reported to have left The Gambia because of problems or violence within their family (47 per cent). Children from Guinea Conakry reported particularly often to have left home due to political, religious or ethnic persecution in the country (33 per cent). In contrast, children in Greece tend to have taken a joint decision within their family to flee countries marked by years of conflict and generalised violence. Coming primarily from countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, the decision to leave was mostly based on the generalised insecurity in their home country, as well as the prospect of not seeing this situation improve any time soon. Conflict and insecurity have a key impact on all aspects of children’s lives, including their ability to go to school; as such, many also left home in the hope to go back to school somewhere safe. Less than half of children interviewed in Italy reported that they left home with the aim of reaching Europe, including Italy (46 per cent). Indeed, one fifth of respondents (20 per cent) had left their home with the aim to go to North Africa or to remain in a neighbouring country (12 per cent), such as Mali or Senegal. Among children who left home with the intention to reach Europe, access to education (38 per cent) and respect for human rights (18 per cent) were important factors which influenced children’s decision to reach a European country. In contrast, among children who planned to travel to neighbouring countries in West Africa or North Africa, work was the primary reason to move, as reported by 44 per cent and 68 per cent respectively, and children tended not to expect better services, such as education. Children and parents interviewed in Greece had rarely anticipated upon their departure that they would stay in Greece once arrived in Europe. With the closure of the Western Balkans route and the EU Turkey statement in spring 2016, refugees and migrants inadvertently stayed in Greece. However, Northern European countries were the most frequently intended final destinations, including countries such as Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. Besides safety, which was a key driver for migration, parents and children saw migration as an opportunity to access better education and work opportunities, both of which they felt were more available in Northern Europe, rather than in Greece. Families traveling from the Middle East to Greece were often aware of the risks the journey to Europe could entail; however, less than half of children assessed in Italy reported to have thought about the risks of the journey prior to leaving home (43 per cent). This suggests that in many cases, children left their country of origin with little preparation and knowledge of what would lay ahead. At the same time, when children had thought about the risks of the journey before leaving (47 per cent), children were well-informed of the level of risk, reportedly knowing that they could be killed on the way (42 per cent) or drown at sea (30 per cent). This illustrates the level of determination and urgency many children must have felt in leaving their country of origin.