The Ismu Foundation, in collaboration with the Roma Tre University and Sapienza University of Rome, organized a seminar "Unaccompanied foreign minors: reception and inclusion", under the patronage of Acri (Association of Foundations and savings).
In recent years and since the Middle East and North African crises of 2011, the consistent flow of unplanned arrivals by sea has increased the number of children and young migrants who have made the journey with their parents or alone. In particular, according to data released by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, out of 154 migrants who landed on our shores in 2015, over 16 were minors, and of these 12.360 were unaccompanied, equal to 8% of total arrivals. The very young people who have crossed the Mediterranean alone to reach Italy are mainly Eritreans, Egyptians, Gambians and Somalis. Again in 2014 (the record year for landings in Italy) the arrivals of unaccompanied minors was significant (13) and equaled that relating to the component of minors arriving following their parents or relatives (13.096), who came in particular from Syria, Afghanistan and Palestine. Following the change of migratory route towards Greece undertaken by migrants originating from these countries starting from the summer of 2015, the arrival of minors in households in Italy has clearly decreased (4 thousand).
Data from the Ministry of Labor highlight a significant growth in unaccompanied minors in recent years: Egypt continues to be the country from which most of the minors present come (23%), followed by Albania (12%), Eritrea and Gambia (10% both). Compared to the age of the minors welcomed, in absolute prevalence of male gender, 81% are between 16 and 17 years old; in particular the latter, almost adult young people who have specific needs, number over 6.432. The number of unaccompanied minors hosted in the various Italian regions is dominated by the areas affected by the landings: just over a third of the minors, in fact, are hosted in Sicily, followed by Calabria and Puglia with over 1.100 present for each of the two.
The data relating to minors who are untraceable has become particularly significant: for 6.135 minors, in fact, an expulsion from the reception facility was reported to the Ministry of Labour. The phenomenon, growing compared to previous years (they were 23% in 2014), is found above all among young Egyptians, Eritreans and Somalis. The European intelligence agency Europol recently denounced the disappearance of at least 10 unaccompanied minors after their arrival in Europe, reporting in particular the Italian case and the more than 1.000 untraceable in Sweden. Many of them are feared to have fallen into the hands of criminal trafficking organisations, while others may have joined family members in other European countries. Often these are young people who enter with specific migratory projects, with very specific family expectations in their countries of origin and with very strong parental and reference networks, who do not have confidence in the possibility of reaching their destination destinations with the channels envisaged by the regulations , and therefore, undertake the journey illegally.
To the minors identified by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies are added unaccompanied minors, fleeing persecution, torture or war, who access the path of international protection: in 2015, 3.790 applications for international protection were presented in Italy by minors unaccompanied foreigners (data from the Ministry of the Interior), over 50% more than the 2.505 applications in 2014, the year from which there was a significant increase (there were 805 applications presented in 2013). It is above all young Gambians who request international protection in our country (over a third of applications), followed by minors from Senegal (12%), Nigeria (12%) and Bangladesh (10%). Italy is in third place in Europe for the number of applications presented by unaccompanied minors: in 2014 in the 28 member countries these applications exceeded 23 (82% more than the previous year), half of which in Sweden and Germany (respectively 7 and 4.400), and 10% in Italy.
