Where did 6,000 migrant children 'disappear' to?

(Baonghean.vn) - About 6,000 migrant children are missing in Germany. Most of them may have just continued their journey, but what about the remaining children? Child protection organizations need to increase support for these lives.

Illustration photo. Source: dpa.

The figures have been released, causing a stir: Last year alone, 5,835 children were reported missing in Germany. The German Interior Ministry gave the figures when asked by the Bundestag. Of these, 555 were under the age of 14. “The unaccompanied children who went missing were mainly from Afghanistan, Syria, Eritrea, Morocco and Algeria,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

But where have the children gone? The government has been left speechless. “It is a scandal that the Interior Ministry cannot give any explanation,” said Barbara Kuppers, a child rights expert at Terre des Hommes. “Where are these children?”

Kuppers assumes that most teenagers and children are likely to simply continue their journey to countries like Sweden or Denmark. Even within Germany, some may find relatives living in cities where the children are not registered.

However, many children disappear because they become victims of crime. “We have seen cases where child welfare institutions are suddenly confronted with traffickers who are demanding money from children,” Kuppers said. As a result, children become distrustful and go into hiding to earn money, even engaging in street prostitution. Kuppers said it is unclear how many similar cases exist.

In an interview with DW, the German Federal Criminal Office stressed: "There is currently no solid evidence that the migrant children who went missing earlier this year have fallen into the hands of criminals."

The agency’s spokesman said unaccompanied children often leave the centers to find acquaintances or relatives. Many of them have been registered multiple times because they travel without papers or have names with multiple pronunciations.

“When children or teenagers reach safety, German authorities rarely receive information, so the list is not cleared,” she said.

Illustration photo. Source: dpa.

The Criminal Police Office of North Rhine-Westphalia shares the same view. There is currently no reliable information about children falling victim to criminal gangs or human trafficking. A spokesman for the agency said that families often split up when fleeing to Europe and the child then has to find his or her relatives on his or her own. Finding a missing child is often difficult, as there is little information and no leads in Germany.

The sudden disappearance of migrant children is not a German problem. Earlier this year, the head of the European police agency Europol, Brian Donald, admitted to the British newspaper Observer that thousands of underage migrants in European countries had been registered but then disappeared without a trace. Conservative estimates put the number of missing children at 10,000.

Mr Donald came to a different conclusion than the German police. He warned that some of the missing children may have fallen prey to criminals. Europol has evidence that some children and adults have been sexually exploited during their journeys. Criminal structures that profit from the influx of migrants are also growing.

In late March, some members of the European Parliament pointed out that pan-European gangs may be exploiting missing migrant children. The children may be victims of sexual violence, labor exploitation or organ trafficking. No one knows how many migrant children in Europe continue their journey, or how many are abused or forced into slavery.

This needs to change, as Barbara Kuppers says: “The politicians have not woken up yet”. The easiest way is to accept unaccompanied migrant children at the EU’s external borders and help them travel safely to their destination. Only then “can they not be put at risk or fall into the hands of traffickers or exploiters for thousands of kilometres”.

Phu Binh

(According to DW)