The number of refugees scattered worldwide is constantly increasing due to several reasons, which could be natural disasters and pests, wars and famines, or simply seeking a better standard of living. However, recently these numbers have reached their highest level since World War II, as Arab Spring revolutions emerged from North Africa and Middle East, triggering a further expansion of refugees. Consequently, prospering countries were destroyed, while others were overpopulated after receiving an influx of refugees from around the world, particularly countries of the European Union, which had the largest share of refugees.
Refugees included minors who lost their families or who were left behind. The percentage of refugee children hit 52% (accounting for 36 million children out of 68.5 million refugees who were forcibly expelled from their homes around the world); most of these children went to European countries. According to the latest data published by “Europol”, 10 thousand missing, unaccompanied refugee children throughout Europe are being searched for. This data indicates the presence of a very serious problem, and that moved the public opinion and launched discussions related to the missing refugees across Europe.
This study investigates the motivations of refugee children to migrate and discusses the legal procedures associated with registered unaccompanied refugee children in Europe. Then, the study analyzes the reasons for the disappearance of children from state records and evaluates the results of individual interviews conducted with refugee children within the scope of this study.
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