The UN has urged countries around Ukraine to give child refugees a safe space as soon as they cross
Heartbreaking footage of children fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine alone is emerging as the United Nations warns that an immediate safe haven must be provided for unaccompanied minors.
In a devastating photo, 12-year-old Alexandra sits on a bus holding her 6-year-old sister Asya, who cries as she waves at her mother Irina, as they leave Odessa in southern Ukraine with members of the Jewish community.
A Ukrainian 11-year-old made international headlines after traveling nearly 700 miles to Slovakia alone because her mother was too sick to accompany her.
Harrowing footage published by CNN shows a little boy crying as he walks alone with only a plastic bag in Medika, a village in Przemyl, bordering Ukraine. The clip ends with him when he stops on an asphalt road surrounded by barbed wire, unsure how or where to proceed.
About 150 Ukrainian children from orphanages in the Kyiv region arrived by train from Lviv on Monday, at the Przemysl train station, the nearest large Polish city to its busiest border crossing with Ukraine.
Excruciating pic.twitter.com/PIutGEIN0F
— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) March 7, 2022
Happy Kids, which has helped rescue nearly 2,000 orphans so far, has designed a converted school sports hall to welcome the new arrivals.
“Just two days ago we had 700 children transported,” said 25-year-old Przemek Macholak, deputy head of crisis response. “It is not easy to find a place for anyone but it is even more difficult to find a place for 700 children in one place.”
Photos from Przemysl published on Tuesday showed children sleeping in a makeshift shelter for Ukrainian refugees in a former shopping centre.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UNICEF said they expect millions of children to do their best to survive the conflict, which began on February 24 when Vladimir Putin attacked Russia's land, air and sea The attack had started. Little neighbor.
According to UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, the only ones among them will be children whose safety should be prioritized as they cross the border, because of the risks of violence, abuse and exploitation when crossing the border. increases many fold.
"Emergency situations also increase the risk of trafficking," the joint statement said, urging neighboring countries to ensure that children and families need a safe place as they cross the border with Ukraine. is offered.
This was echoed by the International Rescue Committee, which said it was "extremely concerned" with the safety and security of women and children - "particularly those traveling alone", who are involved in sexual and gender-based violence as well as trafficking. may be at risk of. ,
We're extremely concerned for the safety and security of women and children, especially those travelling alone from and in #Ukraine.
— International Rescue Committee - UK (@RESCUE_UK) March 7, 2022
They could be at risk of exploitation and abuse, including sexual violence, gender-based violence, and trafficking.
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The 11-year-old boy, who arrived in Slovakia with his passport, a plastic bag and the telephone numbers of relatives in the capital of Bratislava written on his hands, was named as Hassan by the Slovakian Ministry of Internal Affairs on Monday.
Hassan, called a "hero" by the authorities, has since been reunited with his relatives, while his mother says she cannot leave her disabled mother alone, as the family lives near the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant. Shooting on those who are "Russian".
The UNHCR and UNICEF statement said that while temporary foster or other community-based care provides significant protection to those who have been separated at the border, this adoption should not occur during or immediately after an emergency.
"Every effort should be made to reunite the children with their families when possible, if such reunification is in their best interest," the statement said.
According to agencies, Ukraine has about 100,000 children in institutional care or boarding school, half of whom are disabled. Appreciating the importance of being safely evacuated in times of crisis like this, the statement urges the children to act in the best interest and seek the consent of their parents or guardians.