Refugee-emergency in Como, Caritas’ cry of alarm: “unaccompanied minors at risk of exploitation”

For the past three months the city of Como has been facing the emergency situation involving refugees turned back at the Swiss border, where the situation of unaccompanied minors is increasingly hard to handle. 11/12-year-old children, many of them deprived of primary education, after having faced the harshness of the desert and the risk of dying of starvation, now risk becoming the victims of exploitation and falling into the hands of organized crime. They are still too young and don’t have the means to create a serene future for themselves. Beautiful Nigerian, Eritrean and Somali girls aged 14-15, have already been approached at the train station by ambiguous Italian characters who intend to take advantage of them. Children are not protected from such risks. Since the outbreak of the crisis, in the month of July Caritas and other humanitarian organization have assisted some 700 children, boys and girls forced to flee alone, defined in technical terms “foreign unaccompanied minors” who have been landing on Italian coasts in surging numbers. Save the Children estimated the arrival to Italy by sea of over 20 235 children in the period January 1 – September 18 2016, 18 225 of whom were unaccompanied. They arrived from Eritrea, Egypt, Gambia, Nigeria, Guinea, Somalia and other Countries is sub-Saharan and Western Africa. The diocesan Caritas in Como is in the front line to handle the crisis in cooperation with the Red Cross that set up a refugee-camp with 300 beds for the so-called “migrants in transit.” All of them intend to reach Germany, Holland, Belgium, Denmark. Caritas workers are worried about the fate of children and youths. Approximately 40 are presently hosted in the structures of Caritas Como, in a preliminary reception centre, at the Don Guanella institute and in the parish of Rebbio.

Young, fragile lives in need of protection. The Prefecture of Como has recorded 20 000 attempts to cross the border since May 2016. Even children try to cross the border on trains or walking through railway or motorway tunnels. Every time (even three or four times) they give different names, but there are identified through their fingerprints. The border is under tight control, patrolled even with night drones. The passeurs don’t get involved because the migrants can’t afford their fees. At the most they show them a passageway at the price of 50 euro. They offer their help only to Syrians, who are wealthier, in exchange for 800 euro. “The Swiss police stop them, and we pick them up at the customs office – said Roberto Bernasconi, director of Caritas Como -. Italian police authorities entrust them to us because they don’t know where to host them.” Bernasconi is extremely worried about the fate of these children. He feels the responsibility of these young, fragile lives who have already faced so many difficulties. Many of them fled from extraordinary reception centres (CAS) where they were being housed, immediately after they landed in Italy. “They need to be closely followed – he said – because they risk becoming preys of organized crime or ending up in male and female prostitution rings. Italians driving by stop and try to approach them. I have already reported these episodes to the police. We assist these youths with the help of psychologists, lawyers, and cultural mediators. If we manage to help them make the right choices they will have a better future, and so will all of us.” Unfortunately, he went on, “they find it hard to share their experiences. All they want is to reach Northern Europe, but they are lacking the cultural background as well as the language skills needed. Their wish is to avail themselves of the “re-location system”, but it doesn’t work. So we encourage them to complete their education in Italy. In the case of those with relatives abroad we try to help them complete family reunification procedures, but such cases involve very few of them.”

 

The immense generosity of Como’s local community. In the meantime dozens – even hundreds – of refugees come and go from Como’s train station. Every day Caritas volunteers try to convince them to move to the Red Cross refugee camp that has 500 beds in 50 containers, a soup kitchen for 600 people, showers, restrooms, laundry rooms and specialized staff. As for now, a total of 400-500 refugees are sleeping at the train station and in the camp, but figures continue to rise. Como is a town of 80,000 inhabitants and it can be said that it managed to handle the unexpected inflow of migrants, diverted here because the French and Austrian borders are inaccessible. It ‘s like a wheel of fortune: sometimes twenty migrants a day succeed in crossing the border. But only 0.5% of them manage to continue their journey. The others return to Rome or to other refugee-centres they had fled from. The local population showed an immense generosity. “Now we can count on almost 600 more volunteers and 50 000 euro in offerings, in addition to clothing and food items donated by local inhabitants– Bernasconi said -. They made heartfelt gestures, which we must make the most of. All parishes are cooperating and networking; some of them offered the use of the oratory. Women religious gave hospitality to women migrants. A Catholic school has opened its doors to migrant children, although some parents decided to withdraw their children from school as a sign of protest.” Something good was born out of an emergency situation. “Naturally, it would have been best if the crisis had never occurred – Bernasconi remarked with a smile, busy dedicating whole days to phonecalls aimed at handling all aspects of this situation, keeping in touch with the prefecture and the town council – but ultimately, it’s turning out to be an extremely positive experience.”