Migrant children under suspicion, between protection and abandonment

BarcelonaThe details of the journey that brought them from home to Catalonia are not topics that unaccompanied migrant children like to discuss. It is difficult for them to recall the beatings, the robberies, the violence inflicted upon them along the way, and in many cases, this silence extends to the human rights violations they suffer upon arrival in Europe. "Don't ask me about the boat," many of these young people plead, often admitting they had no idea of all the difficulties they would encounter along the way. Data and reports on these situations are scarce, but the Ficat Foundation and Pompeu Fabra University, together with the Casal dels Infants (Children's Home), offer a snapshot of how they have been treated on their journey.

On the one hand, theRassif reportThe study by Ficat and Casal analyzes the legal framework of the child protection system and concludes that, despite the existence of advanced laws, violations still occur, such as age determination tests on young people who possess a valid passport that has not been challenged by anyone. This is a practice that the Supreme Court has repeatedly rejected. Specifically, there are already 59 rulings from this court that They support the requirement that the documentation identifying the minor must be respected. as such if there is no evidence that it is a forgery.

This is what happened to Marzoukou, a boy from Benin who was expelled from the center where he lived under the guardianship of the DGPPIA (General Directorate for the Protection and Care of Children and Adolescents) and whose passport was validated by a court ruling last summer. His minority was recognized, against the opinion of the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Catalan Government, and the boy was readmitted there until he turned 18 in November. Or in the case of Buba, a boy from GambiaThe judge's ruling that considered him a minor for all intents and purposes came when he was living on the streets of Mataró after being removed from the child protection system.

Although indiscriminate age verification tests—physical examination, wrist measurement, or dental analysis—are prohibited and unreliable in this group because they are based on standards for Caucasians, they continue to be carried out, leaving dozens of minors unprotected. In Catalonia, There were 356 young people in 2024According to data from the Prosecutor's Office. Lawyer Laia Costa, from the Ficat Foundation, admitted that while Catalonia's legal framework is "wonderful," it is also true that "the administration is failing to comply with its own law."

The DGPPIA defends itself

However, Esther Vallbona, deputy director of the DGPPIA (Generalitat of Catalonia), counters that the Generalitat does not expel any of the young people whose age of majority is determined by the test. On the contrary, she says, they are allowed to remain at the center with minors. "This is one of the most widespread lies," argued the head of the protection system, who reiterated that "the regulations are followed at all times" and that, in case of reasonable doubt, the law allows for passport checks. Vallbona pointed out that this mixing of minors and young adults in the center makes them uncomfortable to the point that they consider separating them. For lawyer Costa, these minors grow up knowing they are constantly singled out "under permanent suspicion," in a situation she describes as "migrant schizophrenia." Bah, a young man struggling to survive on the streets after being through the child protection system, explains: "They reject us and isolate us from society, and we live in constant fear of being nobody." This young man from Bangladesh found that on his 18th birthday, his residence and work permit hadn't been processed, leaving him an adult with irregular immigration status. Without job prospects, he was forced to live on the streets, in squats, or, when he's lucky, at a friend's house.

The systematic delay in processing residence and work permits, which by law should be granted within a maximum of three months, is another violation. "Often, turning 18 isn't a good day" for these minors, Costa pointed out, because it represents the crucial decision of "being protected or unprotected."

Age verification and paperwork are obstacles that begin when they are teenagers, and they have high expectations of what they will achieve. Mamadou Cassay, from Gambia, traveled through Senegal, Mali, Algeria, and Morocco. before arriving with a canoe in the Canary Islands. He was 14 years old and carried his passport with the intention of "improving his life to help his family." He went through several children's centers and was also deported following the results of age tests, but thanks to the "struggle of organizations and civil society," he managed to have his rights as a former ward recognized and now, with legal status, he shares an apartment.

For its part, Pompeu Fabra University and Casal dels Infants have also published a study on the group of unaccompanied minors and young adult migrants, in which a new profile of boys with higher academic or professional training than they had a few years ago. However, administrative hurdles and a lack of coordination between regions continue to limit their opportunities.

In 2023, Mohamed Hammadah decided to emigrate at the age of 27, driven "to live with dignity, justice, and freedom," not for economic reasons. He earned a living in his country, but "government oppression" was suffocating him and led him to try his luck in Barcelona, ​​unaware that once there, he would face other kinds of difficulties: living with 12 other people in a garage, depression due to his situation, and the feeling of being unable to help his mother. "We came with dreams and have lost everything," he laments, although he maintains his confidence and determination to "keep going."