The number of Syrians clandestinely crossing the
Mediterranean has risen dramatically since March, with thousands more families
likely to attempt the dangerous passage this summer, as the "boat
season" gets underway.
Save the Children's latest report, "The Boat is
Safe" and Other Lies: Why Syrian Families are Risking Everything to Reach
Europe," tells the harrowing stories of families who survived the journey
to Italy.
The sea passage is facilitated by people smugglers,
charging families between $1,500 and $3,000 to
travel on dilapidated and makeshift boats. The journey can take up to 15 days,
and survivors describe extreme conditions, frightening close calls, having no
or very little food and water, and desperate waits to be rescued when things go
wrong. Not all are rescued in time.
"The majority of families we meet fled the war in Syria one or two years
ago, having left behind loved ones, survived extraordinary levels of violence,
escaped recruitment, and seen their homes, towns and villages destroyed,"
said Carlotta Bellini, head of Child Protection
for Save the Children Italy. "They have lost everything, but instead of
finding safety, they continued to face severe hardships, exploitation,
discrimination, and threats in other countries, before they finally attempted
the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean."
At least a sixth of those who attempt the sea journey to Italy – from Africa and elsewhere in
the Mediterranean basin – are children: of the 41,200 migrants the Italian Navy
rescued between January and May 2014, 6,700 were
minors. Eritrean and Syrian children are the largest group arriving by sea. By
the end of May, Italian authorities had rescued more than 3,800 children from
the two countries, some of them very young – tragically highlighted when the
Italian Navy recovered, amongst others, the bodies of a baby and a very young
child when a boat capsized off the Libyan coast in May. Eritrean children, also
fleeing persecution in their home country, predominantly travel on their own, and
are usually in their teens. The average age of Syrian children undertaking this
journey is five, the vast majority of whom traveled with their parents. Both
groups of minors need appropriate care.
The number of Syrian refugees crossing clandestinely into
Italy started rising in July 2013, when more Syrians arrived in Italy than during the
whole of 2012. This trend peaked last September, with more than 4,100 new
Syrian arrivals, of whom more than 1,400 were children. While numbers declined
during the winter months, they have been going up consistently since April,
when around 16,700 migrants were rescued in Italian waters, of whom more than
2,300 were Syrians. Thousands of Syrian and other children are expected to
follow suit throughout the summer months.
The numbers of people fleeing violence and war is now
higher than it has ever been since the end of World War II, and half of the
world's refugees are children, according to UNHCR. Developing countries
continue to host the vast majority, with millions living in overcrowded or
squalid camp conditions. To ensure these children have a chance at a better
future – especially the most vulnerable, such as the injured and sick – and
prevent further loss of life in the Mediterranean over the summer, EU States
must play their part to provide protection to families in desperate need of
sanctuary.
"During the journey across the desert from Egypt to Libya, we were all shoved
together like cattle in pickup trucks. There were about two hundred of us on
the boat, all on top of one another. The sea conditions were terrible, and we
were extremely frightened. When they decided to stop to burn all our extra clothes
and personal belongings in order to lighten the load, we feared for our lives
and the lives of the children. They left us without any reminder of our beloved
Syria. We'd never thought
of making a similar journey." Rama, mother of young Malik, whose family
travelled with three others across the sea from Libya
SOURCE - PRNewswire-USNewswire
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