BETWEEN InSospeso
2011-2015 Munich and Rome An increasing number of children adolescents set off and leave parents and their countries of origin in search for decent and fair lives. They are exposed to many dangers during the months of their flight. When they arrive in Europe, they live in constant insecurity as they are threatened with immediate deportation. This work reminds us that refugees are human beings who, in spite of disappointments and despair, still strive for expressing their adverse fate. Refugees are unwelcome guests in Europe, whether they are adults, children or adolescents. European governments use all means at hand to prevent these people from entering European territories: Technological build-up at the borders, increase of risk when crossing the Mediterranean Sea, humiliating treatment by the administration, exclusion from regular life, livelihood at the lowest level. Not only adults are treated this way, but also children and adolescents, quite a number of them arriving without parents or another trustworthy person. All European governments act this way, though they have ratified the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child and agreed to the obligation to provide appropriate protection and humanitarian support to these children. Politicians and administrators fail to understand that these children and adolescents apply for protection for reasons, which differ from those of adults: These children have no life prospects in their country; their parents are prosecuted; they have hunger; they are exploited; they long for education and vocational training; they want to support their family and their community – instead one disaster is replaced by another disaster.