Migration is not inherently dangerous for children – it’s the lack of legal opportunities that makes it risky. As things stand, many children find few opportunities to move legally. Family reunification is often tied to certain residency and income requirements and limited to the nuclear family, excluding extended family members whom children often depend on for care. Part 6 of 6.
Separation from family leaves children more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse not to mention the damaging psychological impact of the separation. Part 5 of 6.
Rarely are children detained to protect them from imminent danger. Often it is a matter of administrative convenience or lack of adequate facilities. Usually children are detained upon arrival, for registration and identification purposes, or prior to being deported; they often remain in detention for extended periods of time. Part 4 of 6.
Children often find few opportunities to move legally. Family reunification, humanitarian visas and refugee resettlement spots, and work or study visas are out of reach for most. Many families are also pulled apart by work visa only permitting the parent to migrate, leaving children behind. Part 3 of 6.
A child is a child, no matter why they leave home, where they come from, where they are or how they got there. And every child deserves protection, care and all the support and services they need to thrive. Part 1 of 6.
We asked three photographers and filmmakers who’ve been working for us in Cox’s Bazar to tell us what it’s been like to cover such a desperate situation for children.
Since August 25, more than 400,000 Rohingya refugees have crossed the border between Myanmar's Rakhine State and Bangladesh, and that number is rising exponentially every day.
