About 1 in 3 Child Refugees Missing After Calais Camp Shut Down

Earlier this month, French authorities evacuated more than 1,500 unaccompanied children living near the notorious Calais refugee camp.

One in three children who moved from the Calais Jungle refugee camp after it was demolished have already gone missing, according to a report by a French organization specializing in taking care of refugee young people.

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"The Refugee Youth Service, or RYS, monitored 179 children displaced by last month's evictions, of this number, 30 percent can no longer be found," the NGO said.

Earlier this month French authorities evacuated more than 1,500 unaccompanied children living near the notorious Calais refugee camp in northern France, known as the "Jungle.”

Children were allegedly transferred to processing centers, where British officials can decide whether they have the right to U.K. asylum. However, only 8 percent moved legally to Britain, 56 percent are still in France in refugee houses and 2 percent were sleeping outside. Yet another 30 percent could no longer be found.

RYS says that a lack of age and language-appropriate services contributed toward the deteriorating mental health of many of the refugee children.

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The infamous facility was completely demolished on Oct. 24 after a few earlier attempts to partially dismantle the camp, that for months, was the home of over 6,000 people, all of them from conflict-ridden zones across Africa and the Middle East.

Following the violent eviction by French authorities, the United Nations voiced concerns that lone children in Calais were at risk of trafficking unless they were adequately supported during the relocation.

Activists have accused the French and U.K. governments of committing human rights abuses against refugees, especially unaccompanied minors, while the dismantling of the "Jungle” became a symbol of Europe’s failure to effectively respond to its biggest refugee crisis since World War II.

 

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/About-1-in-3-Child-Refugees-Missing-After-Calais-Camp-Shut-Down-20161124-0018.html