V okviru projekta CO.A.ST (My Coming of Age Story) nudimo podporo zakonitim zastopnikom in otrokom brez spremstva tekom procesa prehoda v odraslost. Ker je pomembno, da se tekom zagovorniških aktivnosti sliši tudi glas otrok, bomo v okviru projekta objavili serijo zgodb, katerih cilj je seznaniti širšo javnost z izkušnjami in izivi s katerimi se soočajo otroci brez spremstva od zapustitve svoje izvorne države.
Otroci brez spremstva so posebej ranljiva skupina, ki tekom postopka mednarodne zaščite potrebuje dodatno pomoč in podporo. Ugotovitve projekta kažejo, da je v procesu prehoda v odraslost ključna vloga zakonitih zastopnikov, ki otroke velikokrat spremljajo in jim nudijo podporo tudi po tem ko dosežejo polnoletnost. Pomembnost njihove vloge se vidi tudi skozi zgodbo Ahmeda iz Italije, ki jo v nadaljevanju delimo z vami.
Growing Up in Europe: Ahmed’s Story in Italy
This is the story of Ahmed*, a 19-year-old Egyptian young man who arrived in Italy at the age of sixteen and a half. Today, he works part-time with a permanent contract in a café. He lives in Rome, hosted in a SAI center, where he will remain until he turns 21—a result achieved thanks to the determination of his volunteer guardian.
Ahmed is the eldest of three children and the only boy; his mother recently passed away, and his father has irregular employment. To support his family and repay the debt incurred for his journey to Europe, Ahmed regularly sends them the money he earns. Due to a difficult life from an early age, Ahmed is illiterate and never attended school, although he has always shown a lively and energetic nature.
His journey to Italy ended in Rome, after crossing the sea. The Juvenile Court assigned him a volunteer guardian, who would soon become a crucial figure, especially during the delicate transition to adulthood.
During his time in care, Ahmed’s school enrollment produced limited results, eventually leading to a diagnosis of ADHD. Nonetheless, he successfully completed a baking course.
As his 18th birthday approached, the guardian strongly pushed for the request for administrative continuation (Article 13), an application the group home was reluctant to file due to Ahmed’s poor compliance with rules and his temperament. With full support from the Department, the guardian succeeded in submitting the request.
Upon turning 18, Ahmed was discharged and provisionally hosted in a CARI center in Rome. The Juvenile Court’s favorable decision finally opened the doors of the SAI center, where he also began regular sessions with the center’s psychologist.
In June, a family friend offered Ahmed a job in a fruit shop in Genoa. Despite strong pressure from his family of origin, the guardian—while warning him about the risk of exploitation—encouraged him to go, convinced that everyone must make their own experiences. Ahmed made the trip and completed a trial day, living in a small apartment with ten fellow countrymen. That experience was enough: the initial excitement faded, and he decided to return. Back in Rome on Monday morning, the first person he called was his former guardian, who picked him up at Tiburtina station and brought him, as Ahmed explicitly requested, a tuna and tomato sandwich, reaffirming himself as a familiar figure of comfort and important support.
In August, a sign of their deep bond: Ahmed spent his summer holidays in the South of Italy with the guardian and his family, who, after some initial hesitation, welcomed him as a guest of the home.
Ahmed just turned 19 and celebrated his birthday with friends. His former guardian, though no longer formally assigned to him, was the guest of honor—confirming himself as a stable and essential point of reference in the young man’s life.
*The child’s name has been changed to protect their identity.
My Coming of Age Story (CO.A.ST) is a project co-funded by the European Union and carried out by a consortium of organizations led by CIR – Consiglio Italiano per i Rifugiati (Italy), in partnership with KIND (Belgium and Slovakia), Alliance des Avocats pour les Droits de l’Homme (France), ELIL – European Lawyers in Lesvos (Greece and Poland), and PIC (Legal center for the protection of human rights and the environment, Slovenia).
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only. and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
