Saranda has lived in the UK since she fled fighting in Kosovo in 1999. She is a former UNICEF UK Youth Representative.
UNICEF UK/2005/Nick McGowan-Lowe
Children who are refugees and asylum seekers in the UK are not guaranteed their rights under the UN Convention. Article 22 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child says that children who come into a country as refugees should be treated the same as children who’re born in that country. But when the UK government signed up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, it took out a reservation on article 10 - that families who are separated in different countries should be allowed to be together, which meant that they did not agree to go along with it. This means that families were not free to move between the UK and other countries to be together which left children sometimes on their own. The UK agreed to lift this reservation in 2008, but there are still many children affected.
Some asylum-seeking children in the UK are sent to detention centres until the government decides if they can stay. Others will be moved around lots of temporary accommodation like bed and breakfasts and cheap hotels. Sometimes families have to share a small room in a hotel and are only given 24 hours notice to move on to different accommodation. Many asylum seekers have to survive months without any financial support, leaving them without any money for food or other basic provisions. When they do get financial support it is not the same amount as a British citizen receives.
Some young asylum seekers and refugees arrive in Britain on their own. They’re not always looked after by social services or foster families, so they’re not always adequately protected. Many are moved around from place to place whilst the government makes a decision on whether they can stay in the UK. As a result many young asylum seekers go missing. For example, it is estimated that 389 children and young people went missing from care between 2000 and 2008, the majority of whom are believed to be young asylum seekers. Most of these were young girls and it is feared they may have been abducted to work as prostitutes overseas.
Did you know..? Refugees make a massive contribution to the UK. British institutions like fish & chips, the Mini and Marks & Spencer were all invented by refugees in the UK.
Find out what it's like to be a refugee - play Against All Odds (UN game).