Trees Only Move in the Wind A study of unaccompanied Afghan children in Europe

‘A tree does not move unless there is wind’ is an Afghan proverb which, roughly translated, means ‘there is no smoke without fire’, or ‘nothing happens without a reason’. The proverb provides an appropriate title for a report that tries to explain why significant numbers of Afghan children are making the difficult and dangerous journey to Europe, unaccompanied by their parents.

Interviews with approximately 150 young Afghans, all of them boys, were conducted in France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK between November 2009 and March 2010. Additional information on 38 young Afghans in Turkey and 10 in the UK was also included in the analysis. Focal points were identified in the UNHCR offices in Ankara, Kabul, Islamabad and Teheran, who also provided inputs to the study.

After a document review, Chapter 2 provides a brief introduction to the current situation in Afghanistan and neighbouring refugee-hosting countries, and explains some of the factors that have shaped the movement of young Afghans to Western Europe and other distant locations.The following chapters, 3 and 4, analyse the profile of the recent arrivals and examine the way they are treated, both during their journey and once they are in Europe. Chapter 5 identifies some of the key policy issues arising from the arrival of unaccompanied Afghan children in Europe, while Chapter 6 presents a conclusion and a set of recommendations in relation to this issue.

While this report focuses exclusively on Europe, its findings and recommendations are of equal relevance to other situations where unaccompanied Afghan children are to be found.