Syrian teenagers in Athens resort to prostitution to survive

Name: Sex, Drugs & Refugees. Syrian teenagers in Athens resort to prostitution to survive
Director: Alexander 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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Published: 28 February 2018 00:00 View: 22453

Duration

26:06

Director

Alexander Avilov

Correspondent

Marina Kosareva

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Watch this film in Russian

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

Political and social commentator Mo Ansar talks about the reasons why Greece and other EU countries are unable to manage the influx of migrants fleeing from Syria and other war-torn regions.

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

Lucio Melandri, of the UNICEF response team in Greece, tells RT about the problem of the 22,000 kids seeking asylum in Greece after fleeing from wars.

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Stephen Morris, North West Chairman of the English Democrats, speaks about things not being done to solve the European refugee crisis. He says shelters, processing camps, and safe havens have to be set up by the EU, NATO and aid organizations so “everybody knows where to go.”

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

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