Unaccompanied Minors Seeking Asylum (Swiss Press Text 2017, by Stéphanie Arboit) - Swiss Press Award
24 heures
Stéphanie Arboit
Officially, they are no more than an acronym: UM, unaccompanied minors. These are young migrants, on their journey to adulthood, who have come to Switzerland without their parents. The canton of Vaud alone was housing 270 cases in 2016. Behind the official moniker lies enormous suffering and great loneliness. Although the Etablissement vaudois d’accueil des migrants (EVAM) is taking care of them, these children are in very real peril. In 2016, seven children tried to take their own lives, three of them on the same evening. They had gone through hell, survived horrendous experiences, and been victims of abuse and violence. Stephanie Arboit led the enquiry for 24heures: What these suicides brought to light is not only the tragic stories of these children, but also shortcomings within the institutions, a lack of funds and overstretched caregivers. The investigation resulted in an improved political awareness and a doubling of the Vaudois budget for these cases.
Interview with Stéphanie Arboit
