Government to open new welcome centres for unaccompanied minor migrants

The government wants to open new emergency hosting centres for unaccompanied minor migrants arriving in the country in near future.

The statement, made by the Director of Childhood and Adolescent Services (DGAIA) Georgina Oliva, comes days after the government admitted that an influx of unaccompanied minors in July and August "overwhelmed" childhood services.

In total, five new centres will be opened. In these centres, like those already existing in Barcelona and Girona, the children will receive medical check-ups as well as a primary evaluation of their situation before they get sent to special protection centres.

"It's a matter of working together to integrate these  young people who have come here  to say," Oliva said  on Monday.

The director also recognized  that an increase in the  number of unaccompanied minors coming to the country has  made it difficult to find new places to host them, resulting in images such as children sleeping in police stations due to lack of space.

She also recalled how the number of unaccompanied minors coming to Catalonia has multiplied. In 2006, only 600 came to the country. So far in 2018, a total of 2,200 have arrived.

More new arrivals

The arrival of more than 950 unaccompanied minor migrants in Catalonia during July and August overwhelmed government child services, according to the Minister of Work, Social Affairs and Family last Tuesday.

"We must be aware that we are in over our heads," said Esquerra's Chakir El Homrani in an interview with the Catalan public channel TV3 on Wednesday.

He compared the figures to 2015, when 370 unattended children and young people came to the country throughout the whole year.

Trafficking

There is also a new profile of minor migrants coming to Catalonia, he recognized: Asian girls trafficked to the country by mafias. Some of them enter via Barcelona airport, according to what the Catalan media outlet ARA reported on Wednesday.

According to Homrani, trafficking children is not the responsibility of the government, but rather of airport security.

Despite this, he recognized that "vulnerable people" being taken advantage of "cannot be allowed."