LONDON: A recent report by Save the Children has warned that European countries are treating refugees who enter the continent through the Mediterranean Sea differently to those who enter through Ukraine.
The "Safe for Some" report found that one in fifty refugees dies or goes missing during the perilous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe. Twenty percent of those who reached safely by sea were children.
The charity compared the treatment of people arriving from Ukraine and those arriving from the Mediterranean, with a total of 8 million people, 40% of whom were children. According to Save the Children, those leaving Ukraine "have not faced violence, poaching, or had to rely on smugglers while fleeing violence in their home countries."
Also Read: BBC documentary on PM Modi is a result of 'Poor Journalism': British MP
The report highlights efforts by European governments to assist Ukrainian refugees in accessing housing, education and healthcare, in accordance with the EU's Temporary Protection Directive.
According to the group, this is in stark contrast to the "pushing back" of Syrian refugees arriving by boat, with the EU claiming protection under the Directive "almost twice as many refugees from Ukraine than those who applied for asylum in 2015 and 2016". Have done" refugee crisis.
The report's author, Daniel Goreven of Save the Children senior advocacy, said: "The response to that crisis was brutal at best and at worst.
To deter those who had already arrived and to discourage others from coming, it also banned and strengthened children's ability to apply for asylum in the EU.
Also Read: Army leaders in Myanmar will permit "loyal" citizens to possess firearms.
“It doesn't have to be like this. The warmth shown to Ukrainian families shows that European nations can cooperate to protect traumatized and defenseless children fleeing war.
According to Save the Children, 90% of refugees seeking protection in European countries need to travel through dangerous land and sea routes because there are no longer safe and legal ways for children to reach Europe and apply for asylum .
According to the statement, the "harsh and rigid" immigration controls of European countries are to blame for the deaths at sea.
The charity claimed that children often experience difficulties reuniting with their families due to additional restrictions on refugee movement between European countries.
As children try to reach families independently, "the fact that family reunification can take years in some European countries puts children at risk of trafficking and exploitation," it warned.
Save the Children interviewed children who had fled violent situations and traveled to Europe to compile reports. Others received electric shocks while others were stripped naked and made to stand in the cold.
It was very difficult, said a 10-year-old boy from Syria who had just arrived in Greece. Without food or water, we wandered through the jungle for hours. We were just moving forward praying for safety.
“However, 100 meters before the police station, a van picked us up. I was struggling and had a mental breakdown there. I resisted undressing when the police ordered us to do so.
"They took us back down the river, and there were some really flimsy boats out there," the boy's mother told the group. We could not see anything and I could not see my son.
"I didn't know where he was, but I shouted to the masked men that I wasn't leaving without him." We could see a man with a shotgun hiding among the trees on the opposite side.
Also Read: A study in Portugal reveals that a church abused nearly 5,000 children
"A new European approach that places the rights of all children at the heart of asylum policies is possible," Gorevan said. As the EU negotiates an agreement on asylum and migration, it has an opportunity and a responsibility to prioritize the rights of children. All children fleeing conflict must be provided with safe, legal avenues for refuge, protection and assistance in re-establishing their lives."