We want refugee children to be heard by Europe's political leaders. Will you help to get the Syrian Mohammed and Afghan SK to speak in the European Parliament? Will you help us collect 100,000 signatures?
SK, Mohammed, and the other boys want to make their voices heard, at the very centre of power in Europe. They want to tell their stories and what they have experienced, how their rights have been violated within Europe’s borders.
Around World Refugee Day – June 20th 2022 – SK and Mohammed will present this petition to the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Member States. Support them in their mission and sign the petition!
The Shadow Game team and boys at the Dutch Film Festival.
If a child has to flee to another country, the child must be protected and helped in that country.
Protect children on the move
On paper, refugees have the right to apply for asylum in a safe country. But to get there, they have to make a perilous journey. This is the most dangerous for children. If they flee alone, there is no one to protect them against human trafficking and crime, for example.
But they face many more problems are on their way. Some countries through which children travel treat them as adults. If the children ask for help, they often have to wait a long time. Sometimes they are even – against the rules – forcibly sent back by countries to where they came from. And once children arrive in a safe country, then there is often little attention for their trauma and for getting used to their new country.
Nobody can agree with the current situation with children on the move. Things have to change! We believe that:
- Children must be able to apply for asylum in a safe way.
- Children who reach Europe via Italy or Greece must be brought to other countries in Europe so that they do not have to continue the dangerous journey alone.
- There should be no violence against children at the borders in Europe.
- The asylum procedure must take children into account. More attention should be paid to dealing with trauma and family reunification should go faster.
Mohammed (14) Syria. Croatian border guards claimed he was 20 years old and sent him back without procedure, into a minefield.
Help the boys from Shadow Game start a new life
All the boys from the film have arrived in their destination country, yet that does not mean their journey is over. Now begins the arduous process of navigating through Europe’s asylum policies and societies, as well as starting their life anew.
We wish to use the prize money we won with the film at the FIFDH Human Rights Festival in Geneva – and any future prizes – to financially support the boys from the film: for their education, to furnish their home, and for airplane tickets/visas for family reunification.
We have deposited the prize money into a special Shadow Game fund from our Monocle Productions foundation.
Do you also want to contribute to the boys’ new lives? Then you can do so by donating here:
IBAN: NL 42 TRIO 0338488251, in the name of Stichting Monocle Productions, Govert Flincklaan 26, Amstelveen, The Netherlands. Under reference of: Shadow Game. The foundation has an ANBI status, so your donation is deductible.
BIC code: TRIONL2U
Bank address: Triodos Bank NV, Post box 55, 3700 AB, Zeist, The Netherlands.
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