Child migrant arrivals in Greece quadruple this year

Athens: Over 6,400 child migrants have reached Greece so far this year — more than four times the number reported over the same period in 2023, Save the Children said.

More than 6,400 refugee and migrant children entered Greece this year, more than four times the number for the same period in 2023, said Save the Children in a statement on Wednesday (July 17).

The analysis of monthly figures by UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, quoted by the organization, suggested that between January and June this year, some 5,580 refugee and migrant children arrived by sea to Greek Islands in the Aegean Sea, while about 830 arrived by land — a combined 400 percent increase on the 1,280 migrant children who arrived in the first half of 2023, the statement noted.

Moreover, about one in four child refugees and migrants who arrived in Greece this year travelled without family or a legal guardian — totalling more than 1,500 unaccompanied migrant children, or triple the figure from the first semester of 2023.

“Every child deserves safety and dignity upon arrival,” Willy Bergogné, Save the Children Europe’s director and EU representative, was quoted as saying in the statement.

“Yet, these children arriving in Greece are not being treated as children. It’s imperative that Greek authorities and the EU step up to provide robust guardianship, essential proper protection systems, and improved living standards,” he added.

The NGO’s European director also called for the creation of a “safe route” so the Mediterranean can stop being a “graveyard for children”, the statement concluded.