V okviru transnacionalnega projekta CO.A.ST – My Coming of Age Story (Moja zgodba o odraščanju) smo izvedli raziskovalne dejavnosti o sistemih zaščite za otroke brez spremstva in mladostnike, ki so nedavno postali polnoletni, v šestih evropskih državah, da bi opredelili skupne izzive in si izmenjali dobre prakse za krepitev sprejema in zaščite.
Zgodbe, ki smo jih doslej zbrali, so dale glas izkušnjam, željam in izzivom otrok na njihovi poti k neodvisnosti. Tokrat spreminjamo perspektivo in pripovedujemo zgodbo z druge strani sistema skrbništva: osebe, ki podpira otroke na njihovi poti. Glavni junak je administrateur ad hoc, oseba, ki je v francoskem pravnem sistemu imenovana za zastopanje otroka, kadar njegovi interesi niso ustrezno zaščiteni.
V Franciji za otroke brez spremstva, katerih status je uradno priznan, skrbijo službe za zaščito otrok (Aide Sociale à l’Enfance – ASE), vendar to ne vključuje celovitega pravnega zastopanja.
V posebnih situacijah – zlasti v azilnih postopkih ali v čakalnih conah – javni tožilec imenuje administrateur ad hoc: osebo ali subjekt, da deluje namesto staršev in uveljavlja pravice otroka, ki so v njegovem največjem interesu. Ta oseba zastopa otroka v pravnih, upravnih in civilnih postopkih ter zagotavlja zaščito njegovih pravic. Odvisno od primera se vloga lahko omeji na zastopanje v postopku ali pa vključuje tudi širšo podporo.
Današnja zgodba ponuja podrobnejši vpogled v vlogo administrateur ad hoc in njegove izkušnje z zaščito in zastopanjem mladega človeka, ki se znajde v novi državi.
Growing up in Europe: the story of a Guardian
This is Éric’s story. He has been a volunteer ad hoc administrator within an association for around fifteen years. A screenwriter by profession, he took on this role out of a desire to exercise concrete responsibility and to work in direct contact with people. Accustomed to telling stories, this time he was confronted with real ones.
For many years, Éric has mainly worked in the waiting zone at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport. There, he supports unaccompanied and separated minors arriving on French territory who are held due to the lack of valid documents allowing them to enter the country. Éric’s role is to represent them during these few days of confinement, a period in which he becomes an essential point of reference for the young people.
One of his first assignments left a particularly strong impression on him. He was representing a 15-year-old boy from Guinea and, as he usually does, suggested that the boy write down his phone number. As he watched him write, Éric noticed that the youth had saved the number under the name « Uncle ». Surprised, he asked him, « You call me uncle? », embarrassed the boy apologized, crossed out the word « Uncle », and immediately replaced it with « Dad ».
The anecdote, which no longer surprises Éric today, says a lot about the trust that young people may place in him, or sometimes struggle to place, during these few days when time is limited to understand the young person’s situation and present it before the Liberty and Custody Judge. If the judge is reassured, for example by ruling out the possibility of a trafficking network, the young people are more likely to be released and placed under child protection.
In the waiting zone, the ad hoc administrator often becomes a central point of reference, a guiding thread in a moment of great confusion. Eric supports the young people in all their procedures, whether before the Judge for Liberties and Detention, during interviews with border police, medical examinations, meetings with their lawyer, or in the context of an asylum application before OFPRA. This involves answering questions, easing anxieties, explaining complex procedures, and remaining available almost constantly.
As far as possible, Éric’s role is to help them cross an initial threshold, a transition between two worlds, and to show them that another future is possible.
