Tens of thousands of unaccompanied refugee children and young people have disappeared in Europe. The missing minors are often forced into drug trafficking and prostitution. But who are these children, where are they and what fate are they suffering?
The missing minors are often forced into drug trafficking and prostitution. They were either taken from reception areas for asylum seekers or were never registered in the first place. They live in a parallel world that remains invisible to most Europeans.The reality of the children is hard to bear. Two Moroccan brothers try to scale the high walls of the Spanish exclave of Melilla to get to the ferries that will take them to the mainland. Mi Lad's parents paid a trafficker in Afghanistan to get him away from the Taliban. Farid has made it to Rome and talks about the pedophiles that lure children into hotel rooms with a few euros and the prospect of a hot shower. And a 14-year-old girl from Nigeria was luckier than most: she found refuge in a special facility after being forced into prostitution.
First published on dw.com October 13, 2017