Minor Migrants

European society has been swift to condemn President Trump’s appalling imprisonment of minor migrants fleeing conflict and poverty in Latin America. But with children making up a third of the refugees and migrants coming to Europe, is Europe’s record really any better?

January 2020

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European society has been swift to condemn President Trump’s appalling imprisonment of minor migrants fleeing conflict and poverty in Latin America. But with children making up a third of the refugees and migrants coming to Europe, is Europe’s record really any better?

European countries are not allowed to imprison children under the age of 13. This age limit, however, does not apply to children seeking asylum. As a result, children are being detained in guarded centres – often behind barbed wire and prison bars – in almost all European countries.

In Poland, for example, each year up to two hundred children who have not committed a crime are sent to closed detention centres. In Greece, a teenager was recently murdered in the ‘children’s safe zone’ of a refugee camp, and a nine-month old baby died of dehydration.

Investigate Europe spent three months looking into the detention of child migrants across Europe, gaining access to camps and talking to refugees, state officials, psychologists and paediatricians.

Our Investigate Europe reporters found children living in dangerous conditions in overcrowded camps, children denied access to proper schooling and lacking vital medical care, children prone to depression and suicidal thoughts, and children facing violence and abuse including sexual abuse.

We found that these human rights abuses are not so much the fault of corruption and incompetence, but the desired effect of policies drawn up in the heart of Europe with the aim of creating a severe deterrent.

Scroll down to read the full story in our Media Partner publications below.

Moria’s logbook of horrors
A personnel logbook, found in the ashes of the Moria refugee camp, confirms the challenging conditions faced by the unaccompanied minor’s living in the camp’s Safe Zone. Reporter Stavros Malichudis found the book in the Greek island of Lesbos, home to Europe’s most notorious refugee camp, which burnt to the ground in September 2020. The book — maintained by careworkers from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) — spans six months, and details the tribulations of Moria. Read the full story here and listen to the podcast about it.

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Europe’s new refugee regime: Pushing external borders to the limit
The task of receiving refugees has largely been left to Greece. While asylum centres in northern Europe shut down, 40,000 children and adults remain crammed into refugee camps on Greek Islands in unsanitary and dangerous conditions. Without a collective approach this winter, there are warnings that the entire system may collapse.
Read the full report from Ingeborg Eliassen and Stavros Malichudis.

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BORDERLANDS – Minor migrants imprisoned in Europe
From the remote island of Mayotte in the Comoros Archipelago, a French department next to Madagascar; the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos; Ceuta and Melilla, Spanish territory cities in Morocco; and cosmopolitan airports in Berlin, Lisbon or London – our investigation found children being detained, against international rules, whose only crime is that they are trying to enter European territory without permission
Read the full story by Paulo Pena
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Missing in France: Vietnamese children trafficked into Europe
In recent years, many Vietnamese minors have gone missing after arriving at the Ile-de-France airport. Unaccompanied by family members, these children are supposed to be cared for by child welfare services. But under the nose of these authorities, they are taken by traffickers who are awaiting their arrival.
Read the full story by Leïla Miñano. Originally published in our partner outlet, Mediapart.
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Publications

Flüchtlinge ohne Eltern im Lager Moria: Unbehütet
Flüchtlinge ohne Eltern im Lager Moria: Unbehütet

Rheinpfalz, Germany

5 December 2020

Educadores de la ONU narran el horror de los niños refugiados en el campo de Moira
Educadores de la ONU narran el horror de los niños refugiados en el campo de Moira

infoLibre, Spain

1 December 2020

Enfants et réfugiés: l’horreur de Moria chroniquée par les éducateurs de l’ONU
Enfants et réfugiés: l’horreur de Moria chroniquée par les éducateurs de l’ONU

Mediapart, France

29 November 2020

Antes de arder, el campo de refugiados de Moria ya era un infierno
Antes de arder, el campo de refugiados de Moria ya era un infierno

Público, Portugal

21 November 2020

Logbuch des Schreckens: Was Kinder im Flüchtlingslager Moria erleiden mussten
Logbuch des Schreckens: Was Kinder im Flüchtlingslager Moria erleiden mussten

Der Tagesspiegel, Germany

14 November 2020

Et loggført mareritt
Et loggført mareritt

Klassekampen, Norway

6 November 2020

Pamiętnik znaleziony w piekle
Pamiętnik znaleziony w piekle

WP Magazyn, Poland

2 November 2020

Violence and dead rats: These logs show how cruel Moria was to teenagers
Violence and dead rats: These logs show how cruel Moria was to teenagers

VICE, Germany

1 November 2020

Moria: diary of a nightmare
Moria: diary of a nightmare

OpenDemocracy, UK

1 November 2020

Les enfants disparus de Roissy
Les enfants disparus de Roissy

Mediapart, France

28 July 2020

Hadde vi tålt 122.000 flyktninger på fire år i Norge? Hellas har tatt imot dobbelt så mange
Hadde vi tålt 122.000 flyktninger på fire år i Norge? Hellas har tatt imot dobbelt så mange

Stavanger Aftenblad, Norway

14 July 2020

Enfants migrants enfermés: la grande hypocrisie
Enfants migrants enfermés: la grande hypocrisie

Mediapart, France

17 June 2020

Migrants au pays d’Orbán: ces «prisons maternelles» remplies d’enfants
Migrants au pays d’Orbán: ces «prisons maternelles» remplies d’enfants

Mediapart, France

10 May 2020

Les enfants invisibles de Haraldvangen
Les enfants invisibles de Haraldvangen

Mediapart, France

20 April 2020

Les petits morts de Lesbos
Les petits morts de Lesbos

Mediapart, France

28 March 2020

Europa ignorou pedido da Grécia para acolher crianças refugiadas durante meses
Europa ignorou pedido da Grécia para acolher crianças refugiadas durante meses

Diário de Notícias, Portugal

13 March 2020

Exklusiv: Griechenland bat Deutschland schon vor Monaten um Hilfe für minderjährige Geflüchtete – erfolglos
Exklusiv: Griechenland bat Deutschland schon vor Monaten um Hilfe für minderjährige Geflüchtete – erfolglos

VICE, Germany

9 March 2020

 The ‘Invisible’ Children Held In Detention Around Europe
The ‘Invisible’ Children Held In Detention Around Europe

Huffington Post, UK

9 March 2020

Ανήλικοι μετανάστες: ο χάρτης της ευρωπαϊκής υποκρισίας
Ανήλικοι μετανάστες: ο χάρτης της ευρωπαϊκής υποκρισίας

EfSyn, Greece

9 March 2020

Regjeringen sier nei til asylsøkerne – Stavanger vil si ja
Regjeringen sier nei til asylsøkerne – Stavanger vil si ja

Stavanger Aftenblad, Norway

25 February 2020

Europe vendte dem ryggen
Europe vendte dem ryggen

Fri Fagbevegelse, Norway

13 February 2020

Migranti, dalla Grecia a Lampedusa: migliaia di minorenni reclusi nei campi. Associazioni: “Anche in Italia situazioni di illegalità”
Migranti, dalla Grecia a Lampedusa: migliaia di minorenni reclusi nei campi. Associazioni: “Anche in Italia situazioni di illegalità”

Il Fatto Quotidiano, Italy

19 January 2020

The chronicle of a dozen deaths foretold
The chronicle of a dozen deaths foretold

Solomon Mag, Greece

19 January 2020

"Ich wusste nicht mehr, welcher Wochentag war": Wie Europa geflüchtete Kinder einsperrt
"Ich wusste nicht mehr, welcher Wochentag war": Wie Europa geflüchtete Kinder einsperrt

Der Tagesspiegel, Germany

11 January 2020

Norske ghadah drept i Gaza
Norske ghadah drept i Gaza

Klassekampen, Norway

11 January 2020

Menores migrantes detidos na Europa contra regras internacionais
Menores migrantes detidos na Europa contra regras internacionais

Diário de Notícias, Portugal

9 January 2020

PPA tunnistab: Eesti oli varem pagulasperedega liiga karm
PPA tunnistab: Eesti oli varem pagulasperedega liiga karm

Postimees, Estonia

30 December 2019

Co roku w Polsce od stu do dwustu dzieci trafia do zamkniętego ośrodka, choć nie popełnia żadnego przestępstwa
Co roku w Polsce od stu do dwustu dzieci trafia do zamkniętego ośrodka, choć nie popełnia żadnego przestępstwa

Newsweek Poland, Poland

14 December 2019

I naufraghi di Carola mollati da Berlino: in Italia senza diritti
I naufraghi di Carola mollati da Berlino: in Italia senza diritti

Il Fatto Quotidiano, Italy

3 December 2019

Arbeit als Hauptmotiv: Viele afrikanische Migranten sind besser gebildet als Gleichaltrige in der Heimat
Arbeit als Hauptmotiv: Viele afrikanische Migranten sind besser gebildet als Gleichaltrige in der Heimat

Der Tagesspiegel, Germany

20 October 2019