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17 June 2021 On the occasion of World Refugee Day on 20 June and in view of the European Council on 24 and 25 June, Save the Children underlines the responsibilities of the European Union, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2012, accused by the Organization of remaining in look at the violence without guaranteeing adequate protection and hospitality for those under the age of 18.



The complaint is reported in a new and detailed report carried out along the routes between Oulx, Ventimiglia, Udine and Trieste. A work with which Italy and the European institutions are asked for immediate protection, effective and independent monitoring of borders and humanitarian assistance projects in places of transit. 



The report


They move on foot, hidden under trucks or on trains, transported by car on the highway by passers, through forests and dangerous mountains such as the Pass of Death between Italy and France, often at night, to cross armored borders, one or two are rejected , ten, twenty times, often in a brutal and illegal way, despite being under the age of 18, even among EU Member States. But they don't give up. There are many stories from unaccompanied foreign minors,

sometimes little more than children

, who speak of the atrocities they have suffered or had to witness, especially along the Balkan route: young people who tell of being robbed, beaten, stripped naked in Croatia, detained and subjected to violence in Bulgaria. 



These testimonials

were collected by Save the Children - the international organization that has been fighting for over 100 years to save children at risk and guarantee them a future - in its new report

“Hidden in plain sight. Migrant minors traveling (through) to Europe

”, by the journalist Daniele Biella, accompanied on the field by the photojournalist Alessio Romenzi.



In the month of April alone, 107 unaccompanied foreign minors who entered Italy from the Balkan route were intercepted and welcomed into the Italian protection system. The tip of the much larger iceberg. Also in April, 24 of them voluntarily left the reception facilities in Friuli Venezia Giulia to reach the western Italian border, on the border with France, in Ventimiglia or Oulx. And there are still 24 reports of rejections by the French border police.



The stories


The report “Hidden in plain sight. Migrant minors traveling (through) to Europe "summarizes a field work that aims to shed light on

what happens every day at the borders of Northern Italy

, affected by a continuous passage of unaccompanied foreign minors, who enter

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

every day

, between

Trieste

and

Udine

, where they arrive on foot from the karst mountains or left in the provincial roads by unscrupulous passeur. From here or from the southern regions where they disembark, a dozen unaccompanied minors also reach

Ventimiglia

, in

Liguria

,

every day

.



In

Oulx

, again on the Italian-French border, every day at least three / four minors alone arrive at a shelter that welcomes them after the trauma and fatigue of their journey. Most of the unaccompanied minors are males, but there is no shortage of girls traveling alone, particularly from West African countries.

The risk of trafficking and exploitation is real

: in the absence of legal and safe ways, adolescents and adolescents are exposed to great risks.



In

France

, in

Menton

, lonely minors - as reported by local actors and the same minors interviewed - in addition to being locked up in containers like adults, see their date of birth changed to be of age and therefore rejectionable to

Ventimiglia

, while among the Italian citizen of

Claviere

and the French

Monginevro

, as the operators denounce, if you find the "good policeman" you are welcomed and protected, otherwise you are considered of age and you have to go back to where you left a few hours earlier.



In

Trieste

, until a few months ago the Italian police forces followed a no less worrying practice towards those arriving from

Slovenia

, which provided that, in the absence of doubts from the police about adulthood, it was possible to disregard any declaration of a minor - thus not applying the guarantees, including jurisdictional ones, provided for age assessment by Law 47 / 2017 (Zampa Law) - with the result that the Italo-Slovenian Agreement which provides for the possibility of readmitting migrants to Slovenian territory in an informal manner risked being applied to minors as well. 



The numbers


At the end of April 2021 there were

6,633 unaccompanied foreign girls and boys surveyed in Italy

; in the same month, 302 moved away from the reception facilities. Also in April 2021, 453 entries were registered in Italy, of which 149 from landings. The other 304 were instead traced on the territory, probably passed by the Balkan Route on foot or by truck. This is the official data even if, according to operators' estimates, the overall number could be much higher.