Unaccompanied Minors in Greece and Italy: an Exploration of the Challenges for Social Work Within Tighter Immigration and Resource Constraints in Pandemic Times

Unaccompanied Minors in Greece and Italy: an Exploration of the Challenges for Social Work Within Tighter Immigration and Resource Constraints in Pandemic Times

social sciences $€ £ ¥ Article Unaccompanied Minors in Greece and Italy: An Exploration of the Challenges for Social Work within Tighter Immigration and Resource Constraints in Pandemic Times Ravinder Barn 1,* , Roberta Teresa Di Rosa 2 and Theano Kallinikaki 3 1 Department of Law and Criminology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK 2 Dipartimento Culture e Società, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 14, 90128 Palermo, Italy; [email protected] 3 Department of Social Administration, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Komotini, Greece; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +44-(0)-1784-443678 Abstract: The number of unaccompanied minors (UAMs) arriving in the European Union (EU) has been increasing dramatically over recent years resulting in the formulation of EU policy directives around safeguarding and well-being. Notably, the majority of UAMs enter Europe irregularly through two main gateways to the European continent: via Italy, using the Central Mediterranean Sea route; or through Greece, transiting through the Eastern Mediterranean route from Turkey, mostly via sea. Profiles of UAMs travelling via the two different routes are significantly diverse, reflecting Italy’s and Greece’s geographical proximity to North Africa and the Middle East, respectively. Although Italy has Citation: Barn, Ravinder, Roberta witnessed a decline since 2018 (Todaro and Romano 2019), the two countries have faced a significant Teresa Di Rosa, and Theano increase in UAMs, and this has required a considerable reorganisation of the reception systems and, Kallinikaki. 2021. Unaccompanied more generally, of their welfare systems. However, difficulties in securing adequate reception for Minors in Greece and Italy: An UAMs seeking protection have persisted in both countries. Through an analysis of the impact of the Exploration of the Challenges for pandemic on the Italian and Greek reception systems and social interventions with UAMs, we utilised Social Work Within Tighter a multiple embedded case study approach within a comparative analysis, to identify key changes in Immigration and Resource the main services which should be guaranteed to minors—namely, hosting/housing, guardianship, Constraints in Pandemic Times. Social foster care, family/relatives reunification, school integration, language, job training for care leaving, Sciences 10: 134. https://doi.org/ and preparation for leaving care after 18 years (Di Rosa 2017; Buchanan and Kallinikaki 2018; Barn 10.3390/socsci10040134 et al. 2020). Against a background of critical reviews of the main issues related to policies and Academic Editor: Shulamit Ramon reported social work practice in a context of COVID-19 precarity, set within a wider EU framework, this paper contributes to the literature with an analysis of the current situation and the tightening of Received: 1 February 2021 the conditions of reception, inclusion and integration that await UAMs in these gateway countries Accepted: 19 March 2021 today. We conclude that with the suspension of key services and amenities, and with a practical Published: 12 April 2021 halt to the due process of immigration and asylum, social workers are facing a difficult challenge to prevent the deterioration of UAMs’ mental health and well-being. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in Keywords: unaccompanied minors; precarity; child well-being; welfare systems; COVID-19 published maps and institutional affil- pandemic iations. 1. Background Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. A child is defined by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. as every human being who is below the age of 18. Additionally, almost all countries This article is an open access article around the world have signed up to this convention in recognition of child rights. The distributed under the terms and UNCRC (1989) can be said to safeguard the rights of all children, including unaccompanied conditions of the Creative Commons minors (UAMs), particularly in relation to Article 2 on non-discrimination. Arguably, Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// therefore, such protection is broadly encompassed in mainstream public policy for all creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ children and therefore applicable to UAMs in those country contexts. However, it would 4.0/). Soc. Sci. 2021, 10, 134. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10040134 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/socsci Soc. Sci. 2021, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 18 A child is defined by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) as every human being who is below the age of 18. Additionally, almost all countries around the world have signed up to this convention in recognition of child rights. The UNCRC (1989) can be said to safeguard the rights of all children, including unaccompa- Soc. Sci. 2021, 10, 134 nied minors (UAMs), particularly in relation to Article 2 on non-discrimination. Arguably,2 of 17 therefore, such protection is broadly encompassed in mainstream public policy for all chil- dren and therefore applicable to UAMs in those country contexts. However, it would ap- pear that in dealing with the protection needs of UAMs, European governments face the appearchallenge that of in how dealing to comply with the with protection their international needs of UAMs, and Europeanhumanitarian governments obligations face at a thetime challenge when their of how overall to comply concerns with have their shift internationaled towards and tougher humanitarian immigration obligations policies at and a timestricter when border their overallcontrol concernsto curb unauthorised have shifted towardsimmigration tougher (Drammeh immigration 2010; policiesParusel and2017; stricterTodaro border and Romano control 2019; to curb Chase unauthorised and Allsopp immigration 2020). Although (Drammeh the processes 2010; Parusel of integration 2017; Todaroand mobility and Romani remain 2019 key; Chase challenges and Allsopp for nation 2020-states,). Although increasingly, the processes we are ofwitnessing integration the andcontradictions mobility remain between key challengesliberal democratic for nation-states, espousals increasingly,of freedom and we areequality witnessing and the the re- contradictionsality of exclusionary between immigration liberal democratic policies espousals (Bauder of 2003; freedom Gill andet al. equality 2013). and the reality of exclusionaryChildren immigrationmake up less policiesthan one-third (Bauder of 2003 the; globalGill et al.population, 2013). but according to the Children make up less than one-third of the global population, but according to United Nations High Commissioner for refugees, they comprise half of all refugees (UN- the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees, they comprise half of all refugees HCR 2017). In 2019, there were a total of 672,935 new asylum seekers in Europe. Of these, (UNHCR 2017). In 2019, there were a total of 672,935 new asylum seekers in Europe. Of one-third (202,945) were children (UNHCR 2019). It is estimated that 42,500 migrant chil- these, one-third (202,945) were children (UNHCR 2019). It is estimated that 42,500 migrant dren were present in Greece as of December 31, 2019, up from 27,000 in December 2018. children were present in Greece as of December 31, 2019, up from 27,000 in December In Italy, on the other hand, there were a total of 6054 migrant children registered in differ- 2018. In Italy, on the other hand, there were a total of 6054 migrant children registered ent types of accommodation at the end of December 2019. This represents a 44% decrease in different types of accommodation at the end of December 2019. This represents a 44% compared to December 2018. This is said to be largely as a result of a decrease in sea arri- decrease compared to December 2018. This is said to be largely as a result of a decrease in vals, as well as adolescents reaching adulthood. Overall, however, since 2016, both Greece sea arrivals, as well as adolescents reaching adulthood. Overall, however, since 2016, both and Italy now serve not just as short-term transit countries, but as long-term host countries Greece and Italy now serve not just as short-term transit countries, but as long-term host countriesthat seek that to provide seek to providea range of a range services of servicesand support and supportto UAMs to (Pechtelidis UAMs (Pechtelidis 2020). Figure 2020). 1 Figureshows1 showsthe number the number of accompanied, of accompanied, and unaccompanied and unaccompanied and separated and separated children children by coun- bytry country of arrival ofarrival between between January January and De andcember December 2019 (Source: 2019 (Source: UNHCR UNHCR 2019). 2019). Figure 1. Accompanied, and unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) by country of arrival between January and DecemberFigure 1.2019 Accompanied, (UNHCR 2019 and). unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) by country of arrival between January and December 2019 (UNHCR 2019). As shown in Figure1, the distribution of UAMs between the EU nations has been uneven. For instance, unlike in Greece, in Italy, most migrant children are UAMs. Moreover, it has been suggested that for every UAM who applies for asylum, there are many who do not submit such an application. For instance, in Italy and Spain together, the number of unaccompanied children who did not apply for asylum is said to have exceeded 10,000 in 2013 (European Union 2014). The decline in the number of

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