Syrian teenagers in Athens resort to prostitution to survive

Name: Sex, Drugs & Refugees. Syrian teenagers in Athens resort to prostitution to survive
Director: Aleksandr Avilov
Released: 2018-02-28 00:00:00
Duration: 26 min 6 s
Rating: 7.50

As night falls in Athens, the city’s squares turn seedy, and middle aged European men can be seen chatting with teenage Syrian boys – a seemingly odd pairing of friends. Many of these youngsters are refugees who have resorted to selling themselves for as little as €10 just to eat.

Some also choose drug pedaling and petty theft to survive. With no official documents or help from Greece’s immigration authorities, they are stranded in this horrific life. To escape, some consider abandoning their dream of living in Europe, and others even contemplate suicide.

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7.50

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Published: 28 February 2018 00:00 View: 23021

Duration

26:06

Director

Aleksandr Avilov

Correspondent

Marina Kosareva

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Boris Cheshirkov - the UNHCR spokesperson in Greece, explains the reasons why unaccompanied teenagers in Greece become involved in the drug and sex trade. He describes various EU programs aimed at creating safe environments for teenage refugees by offering them semi-independent living in government-sponsored accommodation where children can stay on their own.

‘The home nations in Europe have a responsibility to house refugees’ - Mo Ansar

6:35

‘The smuggling organizations started trafficking children for sex and organs’ - Lucio Melandri

8:27

'EU has clearly shown it can not deal with the problem' – Stephen Morris

5:14

'We should not label this essentially as prostitution, but more as exploitation' – Boris Cheshirkov

7:34