“When someone comes to Croatia, they need to be given a chance!"
Unaccompanied and separated children need protection and understanding
- Hrvatski
- English
Every year, thousands of children set out on a journey without their parents, without guardians, without safety. While their destinations may differ, their goal is the same – to find a better life, security, and opportunity. The road they travel on is often long, dangerous, exhausting, and filled with fear and uncertainty.
Twana remembers all of that too well. He was only 15 when he left Iraq in search of a better life.
“At the beginning, I was terrified. I didn’t know where I was. To be honest – I didn’t even know where Croatia was; I had never heard of it before. You don’t know what they’ll do with you, where they’ll take you.”
Without a phone, without contact with his parents, the feeling of insecurity was overwhelming. When he arrived to Osijek, he found himself in a center for children with behavioral problems.
“I didn’t know why I was there. Back then, it was a center for children with behavioral problems. I kept asking why, but no one had an answer”, Twana recalls. What he missed most was support – someone to talk to him, to ask what he needed, what he lacked.
“You want to talk, you want to open up, but I couldn’t. I didn’t know the language. You feel sad. Why don’t you have a translator? Is it because you’re Kurdish? It was really hard.”
Today, ten years later, Twana lives in Osijek. He speaks four languages, roots for Dinamo, and says:
“In the end, I stayed, and I don’t regret it. Croatia is a beautiful country.”
His message is clear:
“When someone comes here, give them a chance. Don’t look at skin color or religion. What matters is the kind of person they are and what they will create in the future.”
UNICEF and Switzerland's cooperation gives results
To help unaccompanied children and families in migration integrate, UNICEF and the Switzerland have spent the past two years implementing a joint program – Supporting protection and integration of children and families in migration in Croatia, funded by the Second Swiss Contribution to selected EU member states.
The program brought tangible changes: training of professionals from various fields, improved access to high-quality child care and protection services, early intervention and access to mental health care and psychosocial support services, specialized interventions for professionals, promotion and recommendations for the further development of foster care for unaccompanied and separated children, equipping of four social welfare homes to provide quality care and accommodation for unaccompanied and separated children, and employment of intercultural mediator.
Sima Gholami is the first intercultural mediator at the Center for Provision of Community-based Services Zagreb-Dugave.
“When unaccompanied and separated children arrive, the first thing I ask is their name and what language they speak. If we speak the same language, 90 percent of the problem is solved”, she explains.
Sima is the bridge between children, professionals, and the system.
“I fight for them to have their rights, to feel safe, welcome, and loved.”
Her role goes far beyond translation – she connects professionals, protects children and their rights, and builds trust.
“Knowledge is power. Every training enriches us and helps us become better,” she says about the education she received through the program, adding:
“Depending on the situation, I use the knowledge I’ve gained.”
Božo Vrkljan, director of the Center for Provision of Community-based Services Zagreb-Dugave, is proud of this step forward:
“We are the largest center in Croatia, covering almost 30 percent of the entire national capacity. Over the years, more than 3,500 unaccompanied and separated children have passed through our Center. This UNICEF and Switzerland's program has produced a series of activities and training sessions to strengthen the system.
I dare say this is the most significant, best, and most effective program in the last 20 or 30 years in working with unaccompanied and separated children.
We really put in the effort; we have the experience, knowledge, and desire to give these children the best possible care. Through this programme, with newly renovated spaces and the employment of an intercultural mediator, we’ve gained something we never had before. We’ve reduced children’s isolation and distrust to a minimum.”
He illustrates the importance of the mediator with a recent example:
“Two boys from Afghanistan came to us. One had serious health problems. Without the intercultural mediator, we would never have discovered that. He could have lost his life. Thanks to Sima, the boy received the urgent health care he needed.”
“That’s a huge benefit for the children – and for us. We feel useful and want these children to grow up healthy and accepted”, Sima concludes.
Acceptance is key for unaccompanied and separated children
The importance of feeling accepted is something Dragana Tubić from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children knows well. She and her team, with expert guidance by Drago Župarić-Iljić, conducted numerous interviews with unaccompanied and separated children to better understand their needs.
“These children often feel like they belong to no one. It’s crucial to accept their cultural specificities and accept them as they are"
she says, admitting they were shocked by the intensity and weight of the psychological and emotional burden of traveling alone.
“We were also surprised by what we learned about the hardships these children endured on their journey – violence, smuggling, human trafficking…”
The Center for Missing and Exploited Children developed specialized interventions for professionals and children – practical tools and simple resources that help in daily work and empower children to recognize risks along the way.
“Because of what they experience on the road, these children are incredibly resilient. They all share strong motivation and determination, and they are highly adaptable. Wherever they find themselves, they often manage to cope.
“The key is to accept children and people as they are and to try to understand their needs.”
Psychosocial support has to be accessible
An equally vital role in providing quality mental health and psychosocial support belongs to Hrabri Telefon (Brave Phone). Marina Banković explains how they launched a multilingual chat for children in migration:
“Children reach out with worries about school, friendships, but also questions like: Am I safe? What will tomorrow look like? Many contact us because of anxiety, depression, even suicidal thoughts. That’s why it’s crucial that support is available to everyone.”
The chat is available in eight languages – Croatian, English, French, Turkish, Ukrainian, Russian, Pashto, and Arabic – and the Brave Phone team underwent specialized training and collaborated with the Reception Center for Asylum Seekers in Zagreb to understand the specific needs of children in migration.
“Every child has the same needs – to be seen, heard, and accepted. The need for love and safety is universal.”
“Our motto is that all people are equal, and everyone deserves an equal chance. No one is different because of skin color or faith, especially when it comes to children. Someone once said that children are not foreigners – and that’s true. We must see unaccompanied and separated children as children in distress who, unfortunately, didn’t have the opportunity or luck to grow up in their families, to be born in a country without war or other hardships. Every journey they take means striving for something better. We all need to create conditions in society, so these children have a safe and nurturing environment – whether they are our own children or unaccompanied and separated children, foreign nationals”, concludes Božo Vrkljan.
Integration of unaccompanied and separated children, migrants and families is at the heart of activities that UNICEF, in cooperation with Switzerland, carries out across Croatia as part of the programme “Supporting protection and integration of children and families in migration in Croatia" funded by the Second Swiss Contribution to selected EU member states.
©UNICEF, 2025 “The information and views set out in this page are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, or UNICEF. Neither the Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, or UNICEF nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.”
