Maria, a member of METAdrasi’s team of escorting missions for unaccompanied minors, talks about her experience:
“During my work I often meet children who, despite language difficulties, find a way to show their appreciation. Most of the time through the interpreter present during the escorting mission, but often also through translation apps, children tell us how happy they are that we are there for them. Sometimes they try to remember words in Greek or English, they tell us simple phrases like “Maria good”… These small gestures are enough for us to understand the mutual positive feeling that has been created in the few hours of the escorting mission. Simple, yet sincere expressions that remind us that human connection can be strong even when words are limited.
The job of an escort is much more than just being a physical transfer from point A to point B. The safety and the feeling that someone is there, these are the most important things.”
In the 13 years of METAdrasi’s “Escorting missions for unaccompanied children”, 9,500 missions have taken place during which more than 28,900 children have been safely escorted.
METAdrasi’s activity “Escorting missions for unaccompanied children” is part of the National Emergency Response Mechanism, which was established following a joint initiative of the Special Secretariat for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors, (now the General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons & Institutional Protection) of the Ministry of Migration & Asylum and UNHCR GREECE, and is supported by the Swiss contribution. It operates in cooperation with IOM Greece and the organizations Network for Children’s Rights, ARSIS – Association for the Social Support of Youth and METAdrasi.
