With migrations in recent years, one of the most complex and painful stories in human history is being written. While this story includes hope and the struggle for survival, the drama experienced by unaccompanied migrant children deepens the tragedy of migration. It confronts us with the harsh reality that we wish were fiction.
In this article, we will focus on the issue of unaccompanied migrant children disappearing. We will strive to uncover the truth behind the tragedies of these children and urge societies to confront this painful reality by addressing the loss of innocence. We want to highlight the fact that this problem concerns not only families but all of humanity, and we aim to offer a global perspective.
Families seeking refuge for a safe life in different geographies of the world often take risk of dangerous journeys and struggling with harsh conditions that ordinary people could never tolerate. However, one of the most painful consequences of these migration journeys is the disappearance of children. Unaccompanied migrant children, who sometimes disappear with their families and sometimes on the roads, have to venture into the unknown with an uncertain destination. The child is a child everywhere. Every child is precious. Children who get lost on the roads or wherever they migrate, for whatever reason, should be a primary concern for all of us. The international community, and of course, all of us, must take care of all the children. We cannot ignore the cries of the thousands of lost children and must take responsibility for addressing these tragedies.
Children who escaped the conflicts in Syria and arrived in Europe and disappeared there captured our attention as we were preparing content for EpicMigration’s World Children’s Rights Day in November 2021. As a result of our research, we discovered that 96,000 refugee/migrant children disappeared in Europe between 2015 and 2020. Since this issue burdens our consciences, we started to examine it a little more closely. We found some newsworthy content through our research. For example, according to a 2021 report by the BBC, over 18,000 orphans in Europe were removed from shelters and relocated to undisclosed locations, where they subsequently disappeared, between 2018 and 2020. Imagine being an unaccompanied migrant child seeking refuge in another country, placed in a shelter, only to one day be taken away and vanish without a trace!
According to information provided by Europol (European Police Organization) in 2016, 10,000 unaccompanied children and young people disappeared after arriving in Europe in just one year. At the beginning of 2023, the British Observer newspaper also highlighted the issue of missing children in England. According to the allegations, 136 children disappeared in 18 months. It is also indicated that the missing unaccompanied children disappeared from the hotels of the Ministry of Interior. These figures only show what is recorded. On the other hand, in some European countries like France and Romania, such events are not even recorded. For this reason, experts estimate that the number of missing children and young people exceeds 1 million. It is also unknown exactly which countries the missing children came from because there were no records. Among the countries with the highest number of children lost to abduction are Syria, Morocco, Algeria, Eritrea, Guinea, and Afghanistan. It is noteworthy that all these nations witness significant emigration, primarily driven by war or poverty.
So, where are these children? We said that 3 years ago: “It is only among the assumptions that these children’s involvement in prostitution or drug gangs is controlled by human traffickers.” As we peruse newspapers, articles, and news reports, we observe a significant increase in these numbers have increased significantly in the last 10 years. For example, in the recent Epstein case, the names of the children who disappeared during the 1999 Istanbul earthquake are also mentioned. It is mentioned that thousands of children have disappeared in Afghanistan since the first war began. We know that children from Vietnam are transported to America by planes, but we lack statistics or detailed information beyond an airplane image. The lack of data and our inability to access information other than what is openly available prevent us from accurately revealing the full scope of the event. However, we can infer that migrant children who have arrived in countries known for migration, especially Europe or America, have gone missing for extended periods, with a high probability that thousands of these children have become victims of human trafficking networks.
After the conflicts in Syria, which started in 2011, one of the largest mass migration movements in the world began to occur. As a result of this mass migration, the work of human traders has become easier. Because millions of migrants were scattered in many countries of the world. While the forced migrations that started from Syria poured millions of people onto migration routes, they also triggered migration from other unstable regions around the world. In 2014 and 2015, there was a significant global human movement. Hundreds of thousands of people, including migrants, not only adult men but also women, children, the elderly, disabled individuals, and those injured in the war, have taken to the roads. Especially unaccompanied children involved in the migration process are vulnerable to human traffickers, which creates a risk of their disappearance. Although migration is often seen as a reflection of hope and the search for a better life, the vanishing of unaccompanied migrant children sheds light on the internal challenges and dangers of this journey. Firstly, challenging geographical conditions, illegal migration routes, and insufficient security measures elevate the risk of children disappearing. The most distressing aspect is that children vanish even after reaching Western countries, often considered the ‘cradle of human rights’ and deemed ‘safe’. Even their disappearance from police stations or shelters…
The disappearance of migrant children is concerning not only due to the concrete physical loss but also because of the violation of human rights and children’s rights. In this process, children are deprived of their basic rights and essential needs, such as security, education, and health services. This situation threatens not only the future of individuals but also society and the world. Therefore, to address the issue of unaccompanied migrant children disappearing, it is essential not only to superficially criticize the situation but also to go down to the root causes of the situation and develop effective policies.
This problem is a complex issue that requires cooperation and coordination at the local, national, and international levels. A strong collaboration among civil society, government agencies, and international organizations can play a key role in protecting the rights of migrant children and preventing their disappearance. In addition, social awareness and education can draw attention to the difficulties experienced by migrant children and support efforts to solve these problems. However, the most important step to solve this problem will be to develop protective policies for migrant children universally and ensure their future by creating safe environments in all host countries.
To struggle and advocate for the missing unaccompanied migrant children is the responsibility of all national and international NGOs and public institutions. Not only a few activist individuals or families whose children have disappeared. Unfortunately, we have been consistently using numbers for four years on this path, which we set out by saying “Refugees/Migrants are more than numbers.” This is the way how we can explain the gravity of these events in the world we live in. We strive to comprehend and tell the genuine and underlying causes behind these tragic stories, increase social awareness, and ultimately develop effective policies to address this issue. We believe that global solidarity and cooperation on missing children can strengthen efforts to provide children with a safer future. It should not be forgotten that the issue of lost children is a matter of all humanity, and the right to a safe life for migrant children is the shared responsibility of all humanity.
Translator: Adile Biber
