by Giusi Fasano, sent to the border between Ukraine and Poland
In the last few days, a delegation organized by the EU Parliament’s Intergroup on the Rights of Minors arrived in Poland to understand the needs and risks of this huge flow of under18s moving from Ukraine to Polonio and to the others draw countries
Where are you going with your teddy bear? asks the security guard at the border. In the new house, the little girl smiles. Pink jacket and matching shoes, one hand clutching mother’s, the other tight on teddy bear. I will be 34 years old. so at all border crossings between Ukraine and Poland. Children. A neverending stream of children with their mothers or grandmothers. If the Warsaw numbers reflect the general average, that’s 60% of the refugees fleeing; a monstrosity given the scale of the exodus (we are three and a half million refugees). for them for the children that in the last few days a delegation organized by the European Parliament’s intergroup on the rights of minors has arrived in Poland. The mission to meet the needs and risks of children and youth moving en masse along the UkrainePolandrest of Europe route. Intercept them and intervene before it’s too late. However, it is more difficult to understand the movements denounced by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry in relation to 2,389 children from Donbass who were allegedly brought illegally to Russia. According to the Kyiv Independent, the Kiev government confirms ongoing investigations into cases of child kidnapping and other crimes committed by the Russian occupying forces against civilians in Ukraine. But it’s practically impossible to verify.
Health risks
On the other hand, the delegates of the trip to Poland highlighted the potential health risk associated with the migration of a very young population, largely unvaccinated. No Covid, no measles, no diphtheria, no other. And above all, no vaccination against polio, which is known to affect children in particular. To be honest, Zelenskyy’s government had planned a mass vaccination campaign against poliovirus infection starting in February for about 150,000 children between the ages of six months and six years. But February was first the black month of tensions and then war, and it’s not clear if that health plan was ever launched and to what extent it was implemented. To understand: Ukraine is the continental European country with the highest number of children who are placed in orphanages or various kindergartens: 170,000, most of them unvaccinated. And these children are destined to leave almost all the country’s borders in the war (currently there are 46 thousand left in Ukraine). Who takes care of their health situation? Who will vaccinate her?
The coordination
The first milestone of the Intergroup has arrived in Poland for its prochildren mission and is led by Secretary General Emilio Puccio, just that: European coordination is in place to deal with the health emergency. And not only. We need a European mapping of structures ready to welcome orphans of all ages, including thousands of children with very severe disabilities. We need the temporary suspension of the Schengen Agreement to thoroughly check minors upon their arrival at the border and avoid the risk of kidnapping or disappearance. We need a database that brings together their identities and their journeys and the adults accompanying them. We must help the Polish government to support school policies and psychological support for all refugees, but especially for children and young people. In summary. All of this is needed, and now. The delegation sought by the intergroup was convinced of this after three days of institutional meetings and visits to various refugee reception centers. And that is: the Dutchwoman Catharina Rinzema; Adrien Taquet from France, Minister for Child Protection and representative of the French EU Presidency; Diane Schmitt, European AntiTrafficking Coordinator; Ernesto Caffo, President of Telefono Azzurro and member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Young People and finally Beatrice Lorenzin, former Minister of Health and Parliamentary Children’s Commission, today in the Budget Commission. In light of what has been seen and gathered during the Polish Days, Professor Caffo (with the Intergroup) will have a hearing in the Chamber and Senate on Thursday 24 March at 2pm on the infancy of this humanitarian emergency. I will trace possible ideas and actions. We will provide a picture of the situation he announced and we would try to find a way to coordinate all the necessary protective measures. We must think about the disabled, the fight against human trafficking, the psychophysical health of these children and also what future we can offer them. I saw an untenable, improvised situation. And we can’t afford to improvise. We need a European system and coordination. The little girl with the teddy bear who crossed the border the other day knows nothing about any of this. All she knows is that she has to go to the new house. It’s up to all of Europe to make it more welcoming and safer.
March 23, 2022 (change March 23, 2022 | 19:15)
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