On Their Own

The number of children fleeing their countries unaccompanied by parents or other adults has risen fivefold since 2010-11 – escalating worries about slavery and prostitution.

Some 300,000 minors fled their home countries alone over the most recent two-year period documented, including some 170,000 who sought asylum in Europe in 2015-16, the Associated Press quoted the UN children’s agency as saying.

But getting to Europe or the US hardly means escape. “Ruthless smugglers and traffickers are … helping children to cross borders, only to sell them into slavery and forced prostitution,” UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Justin Forsyth said.

Another third of the children covered in the report – 100,000 boys and girls – were counted at the U.S.-Mexican border.

Source: DailyChatter