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The emigration of unaccompanied Albanian children to EU countries, a disturbing phenomenon!

2023-06-10 19:28:46Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

The emigration of unaccompanied Albanian children to EU countries, a disturbing

In Albania, the phenomenon of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in EU countries continues to be a concern for the authorities and social development researchers.

According to Eurostat data, in the last 10 years, 2120 unaccompanied children have sought asylum in EU countries. This makes Albania the only European country, according to experts, with such a high number of immigrant children unaccompanied by their parents.

The reasons for leaving the country are mainly related to the lack of perspective for the future. The authorities announce the improvement of social and awareness policies with families in order to prevent this phenomenon, which exposes children to risks such as their use by criminal groups or trafficking.

Albania continues to face one of the most disturbing phenomena of the transition years, that of emigration. The researchers single out in it the element of asylum seekers in EU countries, which, according to them, deserves attention.

Since 2012, according to Eurostat data, over 230,000 Albanian citizens have sought asylum in EU countries, among them 66,800 children, or about 28.5%, the majority under 14 years old. These figures regarding immigrant children place Albania in fifth place, right after countries that have known wars and conflicts such as Afghanistan, Syria or Iraq.

According to the data, this trend continued in 2022. 11,600 Albanian citizens sought asylum in EU countries, 34% of them children. But for researchers, the saddest face of this emigration is that of unaccompanied children. According to Eurostat, 2,120 unaccompanied children from Albania have sought asylum in EU countries, for the period 2012-2022. According to researchers, this makes Albania the only European country with such a high number of unaccompanied immigrant children.

Voice of America spoke with a young Albanian in France who asked to remain anonymous. He left Albania at the age of 16 to seek asylum, unaccompanied by his parents. He managed to win it, while showing the reasons why he undertook this path full of dangers.

"I completed 9 years of school and I had no opportunity for high school. Even if I continued it, I would get a diploma, Albania does not have a job situation. I looked at my friends, they had continued high school, they had a diploma but they didn't have a job. I just figured it out and headed here. I left Albania, to have a future for myself and to help my family" - said a young man in France who did not want to be identified for the Voice of America.

This young man managed to gain asylum in France, and today, at the age of 20, he works with a regular contract in the construction sector, but he and many others have traveled a difficult path. A weight that exceeds their age has weighed on them and not all of them have succeeded. They arrive in EU countries, unaccompanied by their parents, but in most cases, encouraged by them and with their approval. They are declared to the structures of the host country as minors and are taken into protection as such. This route is used by them in order to obtain residence documents in these countries more easily than an adult asylum seeker.

Elda Spaho Bleta, journalist and communication expert, voluntarily engaged in centers where unaccompanied minors are accommodated in France, the third destination country in the EU for asylum seekers, tells the Voice of America that children have the same reasons as adults, when seek asylum, mainly for a better future. But their path, as she says, is often quite dangerous.

"According to a study by the National Assembly of Deputies in France, 10% of undocumented children in France fall prey to the criminal system. There is no data on Albanian children. There have been cases where these petty crimes have started, shoplifting, fights between them. They don't understand how hard it is for them. This burdens their file and becomes an obstacle for their integration" - Elda Spaho Bleta, journalist, told the Voice of America.

Connoisseurs of social developments in Albania state that the phenomenon of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children has its source in the family's economic and social situation, poverty, divorce or various conflicts. Gëzim Tushi, a sociologist, charges the state structures with responsibility, which, as he says, should prevent this phenomenon.

"The state is not without responsibility in the emergence of this phenomenon. Family support policies are essential. We have to be real, not all parents who have released their unaccompanied children to immigration are anti-child families. They have certain situations, they have economic problems, they cannot support their families. Some of them may be unable to work. Their income is limited, therefore the policies of the social authority should be combined with the policies of social and economic support for the family" - Gëzim Tushi, researcher, sociologist, told the Voice of America.

The state agency for the rights and protection of the child, says that in cooperation with other state structures, it is working with families and parents in the community, for their awareness, on the danger that threatens the child when he emigrates alone. According to the head of this agency, Alma Tandili, importance is being paid to social-economic policies and the strengthening of controls at the border, in order to prevent this phenomenon.

"The Ministry of Health and Social Protection focused last year on increasing the budget for mothers with many children, increasing services in community centers. But I think that this is not only a matter of economics and perspective for the future. There is a lack of information, we have many cases where children have lost contact with their families, I don't think it is a solution to leave the child at the door of the French police. In those cases where we will find abandonment of the child, measures will be taken up to criminal prosecution of the parents" Alma Tandili, head of the Agency for the rights and protection of the child, told the Voice of America.

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are constantly exposed to risks, such as their use by criminal groups or trafficking. But even when they succeed, the consequences of this stage of life away from the family at a young age are great.

"The biggest risk for them is psychological and emotional damage. They are not children anymore. Since the age of 14 they are alone. They have a big burden. They don't tell the family the difficulties they go through here. I don't think these children will be balanced adults who will know how to build themselves in a healthy way. A difficult life awaits them" - continued Elda Spaho Bleta, journalist.

In Albania, there are several efforts by state structures and non-governmental organizations for the integration of returned immigrants, including children. But leaders of the "Terre des hommes" foundation in Albania, involved in these programs, state that the services for this purpose are not extended throughout the country.

"The problem is that services both from us and from the municipality are difficult to reach every corner of the country, because these children come from different geographical areas and not only from the centers of the cities where these services are possible" - he said to Voice of America Renata Cenko, Migration and Anti-trafficking Program Manager, Terre Des Homes Foundation, mission Albania.

While the sociologist Gëzim Tushi emphasizes the rapid developments of the last 30 years in Albania, often chaotic, which have brought many consequences to children.

"The institutions of social authority have been shaken in general, the family, the school has been shaken. Schools are also responsible for this phenomenon of unaccompanied children in emigration. Because there are children who lose interest in school, who come to school and don't like school. So it is the family, the school, the economic situation that require a strategy from the state" - continued Gëzim Tushi, researcher, sociologist.

Emigration, even though it has had its ups and downs, has been a plague that has continuously accompanied Albania for three decades. Its weak economic and social status has forced hundreds of thousands of citizens to seek a better future in developed countries in the West. Children are carrying this heavy burden, in high numbers, and according to researchers, this is a hemorrhage that must be stopped. According to them, the insufficient state policies in many cases cause the emigration of unaccompanied children to continue, amid countless risks for them, in a world where they go as children and live as adults./VOA


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