Ua plush sheep close to the chest, a fruit juice and a warm hug in which to take refuge for 28 hours straight: it is the journey of little Tanja on the Save the Children bus that left a few days ago from the Polish border near Lviv and arrived at the Istituto degli Innocenti in Florence. He tells us so Niccolò GargagliaHead of the Migrant Minors Protection Unit of Save the Children who led the recovery mission of 92 refugees among women and children (21 of whom without families) who fled the war in Ukraine and are now welcomed between Rome and the Tuscan capital. “Tanja, who is 5 years old, is just one of the many unaccompanied minors who are fleeing from a country where about 100,000 children are without their parents. These kids are truly among the most fragile and risk not finding safe escape routes. Or worse, to fall into exploitation circuits ». According to Unicef, 1.8 million children have already taken refuge in other countries. An emergency in the emergency that is touching the big hearts of Italians, mobilized with fundraisers, clothes, medicines, and often ready to open their doors wide.
To welcome yes, but following the rules
«An important, beautiful solidarity has been activated. The only mistake to avoid is to welcome a child, perhaps the son of acquaintances, without reporting it to the city authorities: the arrival of an unaccompanied minor must always be traced »recommends Gargaglia. Just what Barbara instinctively did, a labor consultant who for over 10 years has periodically hosted Veronika, a “Chernobyl girl” today 19, who has just landed in Milan with her 17-year-old brother Antonenko. “She phoned me pushed by her grandmother who wanted them to be safe, then she and her brother made the journey from Ukraine alone: a five-day odyssey with a fistful of pennies in their pockets. While I was waiting for the bus I reported their arrival to the Municipality, I enrolled them at the ASL at school. When I hugged them again it seemed like a miracle: they survived the bombings, the lack of food, the cold and fear… they will need all our help ».
Children fleeing the conflict
Refugees from Ukraine (photo Ai.Bi.)
Like them another 25,151 minors (out of 63,104 refugees already arrived between Milan, Rome, Naples, Bologna according to data from the Italian Ministry of the Interior of 23 March): some hosted by 235 thousand Ukrainians in our country for some time, others by Italian families. To ensure the warm and safe welcome these kids deserve, the government has appointed the Commissioner of the Civil Protection with responsibility for minors Francesca Ferrandino, which immediately activated a table with Municipalities, Prefectures, Regions, Third sector. Target? To better organize the network of widespread hospitality, also involving citizens who have generously given their availability. How to apply, or help out? Addressing first of all to trusted NGOs. And supporting the 4 paths that we tell you here (more info: garanteinfanzia.org).
Emergency numbers and Blue Points at the borders
We all know the Telephone Azzurro that answers 24 hours a day to the number 114 Childhood Emergency. Today, through the toll-free number 116000 (with Italian operator or and translation), the Onlus together with other European partners offers a safe reference for children who have been lost, and help for displaced families who are looking for them: “In the flight, many desperate parents have lost contact with their children, and as many kids are looking for mom or dad. This number is available to all of them »explains psychiatrist Ernesto Caffo, president of Telefono Azzurro, whom we contact while he is on a mission for the European Parliament at the first reception center in Chelm, Poland. “The number is also useful for tracking unaccompanied minorsan extremely vulnerable target at risk of trafficking at the borders, to which great attention must be guaranteed ». For those transiting from the Ukrainian border there are also the Blue Dots (Blue Points). Created by Unicef and Unhcr in collaboration with the Polish government and other neighboring countries, the Blue Points are safe spaces for women and children on the move (unicef.it). Terre des Hommes has also recently launched a first reception and psychosocial support service for mothers and children in Polandis present in the capitals of Hungary, Romania and Moldavia and now also at the Tarvisio border, with mediators and psychologists for first aid (terredeshommes.it).
The importance of guardians
Ukrainian children to French immigration. (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD / AFP) (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD / AFP via Getty Images)
“What would one of my four children do if he suddenly found himself alone and lost in a foreign country?” says Filippo Ungaro, who has been head of communication for Save and Children for 21 years. «To answer this question, like many others, I fought for law 47 which since 2017 in Italy has established the figure of the guardian for unaccompanied minorsi, indispensable support to ensure that every foreign girl or boy without a family has the right path of welcome and integration, as well as school and health care. A role today more than ever necessary for young Ukrainians, but also for minors arriving from Africa. Nothing to do with adoption: it is an attentive and affectionate support that any citizen with a little good will can offer ». Municipalities, Juvenile Courts and NGOs accept spontaneous applications (savethechildren.it/diventaretutore-volontario).
There are no Serie A and Serie B migrant minors
Among the countries most affected by the refugee emergency is Moldova, where the presence of NGOs is scarce. “Also for this reason a few days ago we moved our Politruck to that area, the mobile primary health care clinic that also helps many minors traveling alone»Explains Michele Iacoviello, coordinator of the Emergency Mobile Clinics project. “As regards assistance in Italy, on the other hand, we want to ensure a pediatrician from the Health System for every unaccompanied minor. We have been fighting for a long time for a national measure that ensures it for all minors, European and non-European: today this is the case only in some regions such as Lombardy, Sicily, Veneto and recently also Campania. Small series A and series B patients? In the meantime, young migrants must turn to third sector associations. We at Emergency are there, with our pediatric clinics open in Castel Volturno, Naples, Polistena, Marghera, Milan “(emergency.it).
We must protect the emotions of the most fragile
Among the many NGOs, too Terre des Hommes is already taking action for the “after”, thanks to the experiences with unaccompanied minors from Mediterranean routes. Valentina Giulino, psychologist of the TdH Lighthouse Project in Pozzallo (in the province of Ragusa), says: “We are not concerned with food and shelter, but with the fragile territory of the emotions of the newly disembarked young people. We welcome their stories through cultural mediators, desperation for what they have experienced, we encourage them to draw the map of the journey, the house left in Africa. I believe that even for young Ukrainians a similar path will be of great help: from north to south the gaze of those fleeing from wars is the same ».
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