Lost in Europe: the disappearance of migrant children

Over 10,000 child migrants have gone missing since arriving in Europe, according to Europol. While some may have travelled to family or friends in Europe without reporting it, it is feared that many have fallen into the hands of drug gangs, human traffickers, while others have been sold into the sex industry. They have all but disappeared. The plight of unaccompanied child migrants is one of the most pressing issues in the so-called migrant crisis.

The goal of this project is to recover the stories of these missing children. Lost children comprises a team of investigative journalists from the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and the UK, who are collaborating to find out what has happened to these missing children. The project is supported by BBC Radio 4 News, VPRO, Il Fatto Quotidiano, and the Investigative Journalism for the EU Fund. The project is also about what citizen journalists working in the Europe and elsewhere can achieve. 

The panel will share the stories of the disappeared and discuss about the background and policies that have got us to where we are.

Hosted by Pembroke Refugee and Migrant Seminar, Cambridge Migration Society

Location: Room 4, Mill Lane Lecture Rooms (map), FB event

_______________

Ismail Einashe is a feature and investigative journalist based in London. He has written for The Sunday Times, The Guardian, The New York Times, Prospect, The Atlantic, NPR, and The Nation, among other places. He has worked for BBC Radio Current Affairs and presented on BBC Radio. He is an Ochberg Fellow at the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University Journalism School and an associate at the Cambridge University Migration Research Network (CAMMIGRES).

Sanne Terlingen works as an investigative journalist for Argos (VPRO / Human), the main investigative radio programme in the Netherlands. Earlier, she worked as an investigative reporter for OneWorld, a magazine and website focusing on foreign affairs and environmental issues. Since 2010, she specialized in reporting on migration and human trafficking. She wrote award winning stories on the long arm of the Eritrean regime in the Netherlands; the US military covering up sex trafficking in Djibouti; and a mysterious death of an Eritrean refugee linked to organ trafficking. 

Geesje van Haren is our Editor in Chief. She has run her own media organization VesPers for over 14 years. Together with Sanne Terlingen, Geesje van Haren is initiator of the Lost in Europe project. Geesje is the driving force of the project and head of the growing team of 12 professionals up until now. She coordinates the research on the ground, brings the team together, works in the field and assists our storytellers. She has much experience as a teacher in investigative journalism, creativity and photography. She is founder of the private school for investigative journalism Open Eyes in Amsterdam.

Cecilia Ferrara is a freelance journalist and Balkan expert based in Rome, co-founder of IRPI, the first center for investigative journalism in Italy. She reports on video, radio and in written journalism, and produces for breaking news, mostly Al Jazeera English. She writes for The Guardian, Mediapart, Il Fatto Quotidiano, East - West, Il Dubbio Osservatorio Balcani. She produced videos for Al Jazeera, France 2, TF1, Il Fatto Quotidiano, Fai Notizia.