Boats from France to England, how many Albanian refugees are mysteriously disappearing

Almost 20% of the unaccompanied migrant children from Albania who crossed over to Britain by dinghy have disappeared. The figures have been published by the British media, the BBC, which writes that out of 197 Albanian children admitted to care units in Britain, 39 have disappeared.

Ecpat UK, which campaigns to protect children from exploitation, said the figures were very worrying. According to them, until November 7, 39 were registered as missing.

Government figures show 44,122 people have crossed in small boats so far this year, compared with 28,461 who arrived in 2021.

This contributed to overcrowding at the Manston migrant reception center in Kent, which at one point was more than double its capacity, with around 4,000 people.

For Kent County Council, not knowing the whereabouts of 39 of the Albanian children it was tasked with looking after must be extremely worrying.

But they add that it can be very difficult to prevent some children from disappearing.

They are trying to proactively identify children who may be at risk of exploitation.