i witness child migration
i witness child migration is a collection of first-hand accounts sharing the experiences of children and young people who are travelling alone through Europe seeking refuge.
Image credit: Andreas Beissel
Powerful appeal written by refugees in Calais at the end of August 2021 following the death of Yasser who was sixteen years old.
A Podcast About Language
Four friends in Athens discuss different words used to describe different legal statuses – ‘refugee’, ‘aslyum seeker’, ‘unaccompanied minor’, ‘migrant’ – what the words mean, how they are often used, and how they can feel.
Asylum-seeking Children Need Foster Carers (Part 2): Veronica
Veronica (not her real name) shares her experiences fostering Sunflower.
Asylum-seeking Children Need Foster Carers (Part 1): Sunflower
Sunflower (not her real name) is a 16-year-old from Angola who shared her experience being fostered by Veronica in the UK.
What It Takes To Be Safe
Hi, I’m Kozey. I want to tell you about my life. I am from Afghanistan. I have lived in a country where there is war and Taliban and ISIS. I didn’t have a bright future ahead of me. Imagine, I haven’t had any fun since I was very small and most of the days as…
Survival Sex
Gaz Kishere shares his experience and learning as a practitioner in the field of child trafficking and child sex slavery for over ten years across Europe.
Out of Sight, Out of Mind? (Where Are All the Homeless Children?)
Written by one of the Velos Youth founders, Jonny Willis, this article draws on the work of Velos Youth and highlights some of the current issues affecting homeless children in Greece.
The Balkan Way: Hearsay Here-to-Stay
Collected stories of refugees in transit through the Balkans offering insights into practical issues of access to water, accomodation and safety.
A Tale of Tails and Teenagers (Part 4): Safe Passage
In three hours the kittens have their passports and two weeks later they make safe passage by car to their new adoptive family. Meanwhile, waiting times of over a year for unaccompanied minors for safe and legal passage means they risk returning to the unofficial camps to cross in lorries and on boats. Those who…
A Tale of Tails and Teenagers (Part 3): Protection
Preventative measures for the kittens put them immediately out of harms way, whereas unaccompanied minors unable to access safe accommodation face daily risks of police violence, physical abuse, sexual exploitation, emotional abuse, exploitation and human trafficking.
A Tale of Tails and Teenagers (Part 2): Health Care
When the kittens get a rash one trip to the vet gets them the medication they need whereas it can take up to several weeks for unaccompanied minors to access health or dental care.
A Tale of Tails and Teenagers (Part 1): Accommodation
I met Hemin and Ameda, two unaccompanied minors from Kurdistan Iraq living in Dunkirk, around the same time two abandoned kittens were found in the Calais ‘Jungles’. Four months later it was the kittens I was scrambling to get legal passage to safety and saying goodbye to Hemin, Ameda and too many other young people…
Get in touch
- Follow us on Twitter: @iwitnesscm
- Email us: iwitnesschildmigration@gmail.com
- Or phone/message (WhatsApp, Viber): +44(0)7723 429 589
Get each new blog post sent to your inbox:
i witness child migration 