Imagine a child in your hometown went missing?
This is the question being asked by thousands of people today.
Naturally, in Ireland, outcry would ensue. Entire communities would look for the lost child and the police services would be enlisted.
Sadly, there is a different reality for the thousands of children displaced in Europe because of the refugee crisis.
They have fled war and famine, witnessed the bloody murder of family and friends. They have sailed past the floating dead bodies of their fellow countrymen, women, and children in the Mediterranean.
Many of these children have been trafficked into sex slavery and other forms of exploitation. Tens of thousands more are at risk of a similar fate.
It’s not good enough.
Irish celebrities have endorsed a campaign to demand the EU takes immediate action to protect this most vulnerable group of people.
A small, grassroots organisation called Bray Refugee Solidarity Group have been working on a campaign to call the EU into action.
By signing their petition you are imploring the EU states to treat cases of missing unaccompanied and separated refugee and migrant children with the urgency and seriousness they would any other child.
The group highlights the unfair treatment of refugee children in an open letter to the EU.
In part it reads:
“Children arriving at Hotspots go not have guaranteed access to age-appropriate information about applying for asylum, the Dublin transfer and family reunification processes, or a guardian or legal representative to help them understand their rights.”
“Smugglers discourage them from registering at borders and Hotspots or legally applying for asylum. The children’s distrust in European child protection services and the legal relocation/reunification process is compounded by reality that the Dublin transfer system carries a lengthy waiting period of up to 12 months.”
“If they do apply for asylum, they are often treated with suspicion and disbelief by authorities, are subjected to invasive age assessments and gruelling interviews about their motivations and can be held in detention indefinitely. Unsurprisingly, many children – fearful of the system and desperate to reach their chosen destination – are more willing to trust smugglers and traffickers to transport them.”
Sign the petition HERE.
