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Number of Egyptian children making journey to Europe alone dramatically increasing

May 13, 2015 at 10:11 am

The number of Egyptian children making the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean alone has dramatically increased, according to news publication Global Post.

Some 2,000 child migrants from Egypt made the journey last year – nearly double the number who did so in 2013.

In 2012 around 25 to 30 percent of Egyptians making the crossing were unaccompanied minors. Now that number has almost doubled, standing at 50 percent, according to sources from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

Unlike Egyptian adults who face deportation on arrival, Italian national legislation bounds the government to protect unaccompanied minors until they are 18.

Children migrating alone now make up about half of the unofficial Egyptian migrants who reach Italy.