A Child or a Man

A UNICEF supported frontline worker from Open Gate La Strada recalls his toughest moment when he was asked to accompany 15 year Sarif to identify the bodies of two women and a man who drowned trying to the “Dry River” near Gevgelija. He is one of ten frontline workers to share their toughest and most rewarding moments protecting refugee and migrant children from mid-June 2015 to today.

My shift had started. Walking closer to the bridge in front of the transit centre, I noticed that the river was strange. Never before had I seen it flow as is it did on that day, with such tremendous force caused by several days of rain. I noticed a crowd on the bank. The police, doctors, many people. I knew what the commotion was about, because I had some information on what was happening at the transit centre. Two female bodies and one male. People who drowned during the morning trying to cross the river on their search for a better life in Europe.

The police officers said, ‘bring the child to identify the bodies’. I went back to the transit centre to take Sarif, the child who also almost drowned that morning together with them. On our walk to the scene, he did not say a word. He looked at the dead bodies and said ‘They are my sisters and my brother-in-law’. We immediately went back to the child-friendly space. On the way back, he said ‘Don’t tell my mother, if she finds out, she’ll die right away”. We respected his plea. In the weeks that child stayed in the transit centre, during all that time, he said nothing about the incident to his mother and two sisters.

I wondered and asked myself where this 15-year-old boy found the strength to be a man. A man who would bear such a burden when he was still a child. Around 15 days later, his uncle came to the transit centre from Germany. He had lived there for 30 years and this was the first time he personally saw this boy at the entrance of the camp. He cried loudly. It was a cry that reverberates in my ears even today.

Sarif eventually made it to Germany. His mother now knows about the tragic loss. Like many children, he wants to get an education, finish school and go to university. I wish the best of luck to this man-child.

The refugee and migrant crisis in Europe has affected many countries, including the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Between June 2015 and March 2016, some 800,000 people transited through the country. When the Balkan route closed in March 2016, 68 per cent of people on the move were women and children. Currently, approximately 200 people, half of them children, continue to remain stranded in transit centres and asylum centres in the country.

UNICEF’s response to the refugee and migrant crisis in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is generously supported by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), the governments of Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom, UNICEF’s National Committees, individuals and corporate and private partners.