Changing the Story: What to Do About Child Migration

Ahmed 1 Saki Ahmed Dr. Anna Ullmann Writing Responsibly 7 December 2018 Changing the Story: What to Do About Child Migration In her New Yorker story on child refugees, Lauren Collins writes about Wasil, a twelve- year-old from Afghanistan who lives in “the Jungle,” a refugee camp in Calais, France. Wasil’s story is moving and sad, especially given that in 2015 he was just one of almost a hundred thousand children like him, who traveled thousands of miles looking for safety after war displaced them. This is often a traumatic experience because “at an age at which most kids need supervision to complete their homework, these children cross continents alone” (Collins). Although the migration crisis in Europe has decreased since 2015, the recent American news coverage of child migration gives the impression that there is an even greater crisis here. The current U.S. government emphasizes the dangers of migrants, even children and youths. For example, President Donald Trump has accused young male migrants from El Salvador of being members of the gang MS-13 and called Mexicans “rapists.” This is all despite the fact that the data on child migration is incomplete and it’s unclear whether the present-day is different from historical patterns (Heidbrink 3-4). However, the increase of visibility of migration makes it critically important today to consider the problems that child migrants present to governments. The reasons for child migration are different from country to country, but can include refugee situations, where children flee from war or famine or gang violence, as well as more positive migrations, like people who move to another country for a better education or job. This is, as stated above, a major concern in the United States right now. So who are these child migrants,

Changing the Story: What to Do About Child Migration

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