Every child has a story to tell…
There are more than 117 million people who are forcibly displaced in the world today. That means 1 in every 70 people has been forced to leave their homes because of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, or events seriously disturbing public order. 49 million are children, more than 40 per cent of the world’s refugees.
Globally, barriers to migration and forcible returns continue, as do illegal pushbacks and the inumane treatment of those trying to seek refuge across borders. A report issued by the European Parliament Research service found that as many EU countries prioritise border strengthening, “push backs” involving “the excessive use of force” and the “degrading and inhuman treatment of migrants” by border authorities have become more common. “Not only do these practices and policies of stopping asylum-seekers and migrants in need of protection at or before they reach the external borders erode EU values as enshrined in the EU Treaties, they may also violate international and European humanitarian and human rights laws.”
According to Save the Children, at least 278 children died in 2025 while on migration routes, particularly in the Mediterranean, with 136 dying at sea after fleeing conflict, hunger and climate shocks. Although according to Melinda van Zyl, Save the Children’s Senior Advisor, Migration and Displacement:
“The 278 child migrant deaths recorded this year are just the tip of the iceberg, counting only children who were found and identified. The true toll is likely far higher, and it will keep rising as long as safe routes are closed and the root causes of migration go unaddressed. The more children are pushed onto dangerous journeys, the more will die.”
Meanwhile children continue to be displaced by conflict, armed violence and climate change in Latin America, with rising reverse flows from North to South. In all these situations “children adolescents and their families face mounting risks to their safety amid irregular transits, forced displacement, xenophobia and insecurity.”
Why are children fleeing their homes and seeking refuge elsewhere? What is it like to flee Afghanistan, be bombed in Syria, threatened with kidnap and murder in El Salvador, or flee forced prostitution in West Africa? How do they manage these journeys? What happens if you are kidnapped in Libya? How do you get in a rubber boat to cross an ocean when you have never seen the sea before? Live in a refugee camp in Northern Greece or a shelter in southern Mexico? How do you smuggle yourself across the Italian Border? How did Covid 19 affected children on the move? What do these children hope for their future?
On this website children from the Middle East, South East Asia, West Africa, East Africa, and Central America tell their stories and give you their own answers, in words and pictures. They are now living or travelling through Greece, France, Italy, the Balkans and the UK, or moving from Central America to Mexico and the United States.
