State Agency for Refugees: 7 Unaccompanied Minors Enter Bulgaria per Day

On average, 7 unaccompanied minor refugees are seeking protection in the country every day, shows the data of the State Agency for Refugees for 2016.

Last year, 6572 children entered the country, 42% of whom have arrived in Bulgaria without family or an elderly relative.

Compared with 2015, when unaccompanied children were 1816, last year their number increased by 60% to 2772.

Most numerous were the unaccompanied refugee children from Afghanistan – 2048.

As many as 310 of them were younger than 14 years old and more than half of them were aged between 16 and 17.

Unaccompanied minors are housed in refugee camps, but in a separate rooms of adult migrants. Currently over 450 children live in specialist centers, while other 17 were taken to accommodation in social services such as sheltered housing and family homes. For every child without family, the municipality mayor shall appoint a representative who will care about the interests and the protection of the child.

Depending on age, the highest percentage of persons seeking protection from the country are aged between 18 and 34 years – 56%.

A more than double decrease has been registered in the number of people with university or college education than other categories in the years after the beginning of the refugee wave in the country. According to the data, for the past two years those without education are 23% and less educated persons with primary or lower secondary education are 54%.

The State Agency for Refugees also works with people and children with special needs (disabled people, elderly people, pregnant women, single parents, victims of trafficking, persons with serious illnesses, people with mental disorders and persons, who have suffered torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence).

It offers them professional support, individual work and special intercultural training.

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