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7
ADDRESSING
THE EDUCATIONAL
NEEDS OF SEPARATED CHILDREN
7.1 INTRODUCTION
Unaccompanied minors are asylum seeking children and young
people under the age of eighteen (18) who are separated from their
parents/legal caregivers 76 . Recognised in Irish domestic legislation,
this term has been critiqued for not adequately describing the
situation of these children. The Separated Children in Europe
Programme defines ‘separated children’ as:
…children under 18 years of age who are outside their coy
of origin and separated from both parents, or their previous
legal/customary caregiver. Some children are totally alone
while others…may be living with extended family members….
Separated children may be seeking asylum because of fear of
persecution or the lack of protection due to human rights
violations, armed conflict and disturbances in their own
country. They may be victims of trafficking for sexual
exploitation or other exploitation, or they may have travelled
to Europe to escape conditions of serious deprivation 77 .
Separated children flee to Europe for many reasons. Parents and
family members may have been killed or imprisoned. 78 During war
and conflict, separated children are sometimes sent abroad for their
own safety and to avoid conscription. When separated children
flee poverty, they can be expected to send remittances to family
members in home countries. Placing a huge burden upon separated
children, deportation and migration failure results in enormous
financial costs for home communities.
Reflecting patterns in adult statistics, the number of separated
children arriving in Ireland has risen substantially. Nine separated
children applied for asylum in 1997, with these statistics raising
considerably to 300 in 2000 and 425 in 2001. Statistics on referrals
of separated refugee children to the Health Board indicates much
higher numbers. For example, 505 separated children were recorded
in 2000 and this figure rose to 825 in 2002. However, these
statistics include children who arrived alone in Ireland and who were
subsequently reunified with family members, together abandoned
with children of asylum seekers/refugees currently living in Ireland.
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
9 20
34
300
425
500
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Figure 1: Number of separated children to apply for asylum 1997-2002
Source: Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform
Year
2000
2001
2002
Number
505
730
877
Table 1: Number of separated children referred to the Team for Separated
Children Seeking Asylum 2000 - 2002.
Source: Northern Area Health Board and The Social Work Team for
Separated Children
32
76
UNHCR Refugee Children: Guidelines on Protection and Care, UNHCR: Geneva: 1993.
77
Separated Children in Europe Programme Statement of Good Practice Save the Children/UNHCR, Brussels: 1999, Section 2.1.
78
Rutter, J. Supporting Refugee Children in 21st Century Britain: A Compendium of Essential Information, Trentham Books, London: 2001.