Alone on the Boats - Chapter 1: WHO are the MIGRANT CHILDREN arriving in Italy ALONE?

In six years, from January 2011 to December 2016, 85.937 foreign minors arrived in Italy only through the Central Mediterranean route that from Libya brought them to the Sicilian shores. About the 73% of them (62.672 kids in total) were not accompanied by an adult figure. This means that, in the last six years, three minors out of four have undertaken the journey alone. Even more alarming are the data for 2016. Last year, 25.846 unaccompanied minor immigrants (UMI) landed on the Italian shores, more than two times the number for 2015 and six times the number for 2011. Moreover, while until 2015 the percentage of unaccompanied minors remained steady around 7.8% of all the arrivals, in 2016 UMI constituted the 14.2% of all migrants and more than the 90% of minors. The data concerning the first half of 2017 show a further increase of the 20% in UMI arrivals, with 5.500 minors arrived only between January and May.

A first distinction should be made according to the age of the minors. The 91% of UMI are aged between 15 and 18 years old. The remaining 9% is 14 years old or younger. This percentage appears to remain constant over the years; however, the absolute number of kids under 14 is growing sharply: while in 2012 they were “only” 698, this number triplicated in 2016 when 2.050 minors with less than 14 years old arrived in Italy.

The younger portion of UMI constitutes one of the most vulnerable groups of immigrants, and it is paramount to find adequate solutions to keep them safe and guarantee their well-being. Tutors should be adequately selected and trained to fulfil their needs and, when possible, the kids should be placed in foster care families.

A second highly vulnerable group of UMI is constituted by girls. In 2016, 1.832 girls arrived in Italy, the 7.6% of all UMI. Among them, almost 700 disappeared just after the arrival. Girls mainly come from Nigeria and Eritrea, fleeing from abuse and slavery. Nigerian girls are usually born in extremely poor families of the countryside and have lost one or both parents. They went to live with other family members, who are often the first perpetrators of physical and psychological abuses. Many of the girls were involved in human trafficking by a neighbour, acquaintances or even school-mates and older sisters: they have to promise to pay back their debt to the smuggler (around 20/50.000 euros) so they can start the journey towards Europe. The girls are coerced to prostitute since they enter in Niger and Libya, where they can be kept for months in the so-called “connection houses”. When they finally land in Italy, the smugglers are already waiting for them: the girls are thought to lie about their age in order to avoid the system of protection for minors. They are immediately taken away and directed to prostitution in different Italian and European cities.