* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
For the first time ever in its 55-year history, Terre des hommes has to implement mobile emergency responses in Europe. Before the winter cold sets in, Switzerland’s largest child relief organisation is providing physical and psychological support to children and their families fleeing violence in their own countries along the “Western Balkan route”.
"The fact that a child welfare organisation needs to intervene in one of the richest continents in the world is a proof of the failure of States to live up to their responsibilities,” said Tdh Director Vito Angelillo. "The plight of children is obvious. The nights are getting colder. We urgently need to act."
Refugees that walk on foot from Greece towards the North rarely sleep more than one night in the same place. They are forced to adapt their route to the ever-changing political realities at national border controls. Along their way, Terre des hommes provides them with assistance and information about the administrative and legal procedures they have to complete.
“Our mobile teams also provide refugees with blankets, winter clothes and hygiene kits,” explains Sendrine Constant, project manager in Budapest. “At the same time, we provide psycho-social assistance and ensure they access medical care." Terre des hommes also organises activities for children to feel safe and be children again for a few hours – while also relieving their exhausted parents
Depending on their route, Tdh works on locations along the borders between Greece and Macedonia, Macedonia and Serbia, and Serbia and Hungary. In the coming weeks, Tdh expects to provide services to 25,000 children and their families.
Terre des hommes has extensive experience in protecting migrant children - for example in Mali, where minors often travel alone to help earn money for their family. For the first time, the organisation will implement the methods and approaches used there in Southern European countries.
The new initiative in the Western Balkans follows smaller projects in Hungary, Macedonia, Serbia and Greece, and complements Terre des hommes’ long-term assistance programs in Syria’s neighbouring, as well as in Sicily as part of the “Destination unknown” campaign of the Terre des Hommes International Federation.
