Migrants robbed of childhood
BELGRADE // At a child care centre in Belgrade, a drawing of a Christmas tree is dotted with new year wishes.
Samir, a 16-year-old from Afghanistan, points to his wish.
“I want to go to London,” the teenager said. “My parents are in Afghanistan, but I want to go. I can speak English, and London is good for me.”
Samir is part of a group of young refugees who were placed temporarily at the government-run centre in the Serbian capital after they were found roaming the streets. Minors make up about 40 per cent of the thousands of refugees in Serbia seeking ways to cross the heavily-guarded borders of neighbouring European Union nations Croatia or Hungary, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund.
Authorities and aid groups try to find the youths’ families, either in their home countries or along the routes taken by refugees hoping to reach Europe.
One child at the government centre has agreed to live with a foster family in Serbia because his parents cannot be found.
Other youths travelling alone or in small groups try to avoid detection and offers of aid because they hope to earn money once they reach Europe, but instead find hardship and cold sleeping in makeshift shelters or parks.
Save the Children and other non- profit groups work with refugees outside government facilities in a small centre called Miksaliste in Belgrade. Noman, a 15- year- old from Afghanistan, said he has tried twice to cross into Croatia. Police stopped him at the border both times and sent him back.
“I want to go forward to Croatia and Italy,” said Noman, who left Afghanistan nine months ago because “people are fighting and killing each other”.
Some of the minors set off with their families but were separated either by chance or by smugglers who often split up families as a way to control them.
Some teenage refugees are also sent away from home by parents who want them to reach western Europe so they can eventually bring the rest of the family over or earn money to support relatives.
A 16- year- old from Afghanistan tried to kill himself after his parents refused to let him return home, said Michel SaintLot, a Unicef representative in Serbia.
“He felt that he was failing his family. They are adult without having lived the youth.”