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Despite many European countries and people generously helping one million refugees, Europe is doing too little to protect and help vulnerable refugee children and stop families drowning on our shores, according to said Save the Children UK Campaigns Director, Kirsty McNeill.
"This is the test of our European ideal. When children are dying on our doorstep we need to take bolder action. There can be no bigger priority," she says.
“Some reception facilities, especially at borders, aren’t adequately providing for basic needs like food, water or healthcare. The situation is expected to worsen with the onset of winter – especially for children - who are also more vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, violence and trafficking. We urge European states to focus on immediate humanitarian needs on the ground, especially for children.”
Recent discussions around the proposed detention of migrants for up to 18 months for security screening are viewed with great concern by the charity, which works across the European migration routes.
“Any proposals for detention must fully consider how to avoid locking up children, which is against their rights as declared in the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. Too many children tell us they’ve been locked up in prisons along their route to claim asylum – which is also their right,” McNeill adds.
“What these children want most is to go home. Until that’s safe, we should offer a warm welcome.”
The agency also recently commissioned a sereis of powerful illustrations by George Butler, Falklands War Artist Linda Kitson, David Foldvari, and Toby Morison, to depict the dangerous journeys undertaken by thousands of refugees this year – from cold shores of Lesvos in Greece, to restarting a new life in Germany or Italy and the challenges that brings.
They act as a reminder of the thousands of refugee children and families who have tragically had their lives turned upside-down this year - escaping bombs, bullets and torture in warzones like Syria.
On their journeys, the illustrators witnessed the vital work that Save the Children is carrying out to ensure that refugee children and their families have the immediate protection, essential supplies and psychological support they need, as well as on-going care, shelter and education to help them regain a degree of normality after their traumatic experience.
All illustrations can be found here: http://storycentral.savethechildren.org.uk/pages/search.php?search=%21collection33825&k=f0aed1b02c
