Feature: Unaccompanied minor refugees in Greece take up family burden onto themselves

"I feared that I might die, but I had to do it for my family," Omar, a Syrian boy only 16 years old, bears all the burden of his family to find a safe place in Europe, having experienced far too much for a child.

Omar is one of the thousand unaccompanied minors, small heroes arriving every day in Greece fleeing from war-torn countries in the Middle East, risking their lives to cross the sea dealing with traffickers.

He travelled in a wooden boat for eight days from Alexandria in Egypt to Crete island in southern Greece along with other 266 refugees and migrants, bringing with him only the necessary for his difficult trip: food and water.

With a serious and mature look in his eyes Omar stood in the accommodation center called "StegiPlus" (Shelter Plus) for unaccompanied minors of the non-government organization PRAKSIS (Action) in the center of Athens recently and shared his story to Xinhua.

He arrived in Greece five months ago from Egypt where he lived with his family the last three and a half years, after escaping from the nightmare of the Syrian civil war.

His hometown, Hama, the fourth-largest city in west-central Syria, was one of the main arenas of the armed conflicts.

His home back to Hama is abandoned and destroyed. He lived in a flat with his parents, two younger sisters and his younger brother. He attended a public school; he had his friends and dreams to study science. But, then everything changed.

"It was not normal life. Every night people died. They entered our house. We felt threatened," Omar said.

In 2012, his father decided to take his family to Egypt's largest seaport, Alexandria. But without documents and work, the only escape for the family was Europe and Omar, the eldest son, was the one who had to sacrifice and make the arduous trip.

"I shouldn't be afraid. It is a solution to save my family," he answered without getting emotional.

He confessed that he was scared on the last day before his trip, but he had to gather all his power to keep his promise, to go first and bring his family into a safer place.

Now he feels safe, he said. He lives with other 19 unaccompanied minors who also have a unique story to tell, as Sissy Levanti, sociologist at PRAKSIS told Xinhua, and waits for the family reunification procedure to be completed.

"I will go to stay with my aunt, my mother's sister who lives in Nottingham, England and my family will come too, but not by the same way I went," he stressed.

What is Omar's dream? "Just to continue my studies in a safe country with my family," he said.

"The difficult thing for the reunification is that the procedure can take a long time, up until eight months. Besides the cross-checking of the documents, social workers have to visit the house of the family member and see if the conditions are good for the child to live in," Levanti explained.

At the beginning, Omar wanted to abandon the shelter and continue his trip. But, officials from PRAKSIS contacted his father who as a lawyer understood that this was the best option for his son and his family: to follow the legal way.

Experts estimate that of all migrants that have travelled to Europe in 2015, about 20 percent are children.

As Levanti pointed out depending on the wish of each child, there are different paths to follow. Applying the Dublin II protocol, they can activate the family reunification program in case parents or relatives have been tracked in another European country. Others express the will to go back to their countries, because they have regretted ever starting the trip to Europe.

For Levanti it is rather alarming the high percentage of minors who decide to leave the shelter to continue the journey illegally. There are cases of children who escape only an hour after having arrived at the camp. "Especially from summer there has been an increase not only in our center, but in others as well due to loosening controls at the borders," she told Xinhua.

"They tell me by putting their hands to the heart, 'I know you want to help me but in three days I will be in my destination. So why do I have to stay here for six months?'" she said, rather frustrated as she tries to change their mind.

Her challenge is to persuade them to stay in the center and follow the safe and legal option. If they leave, they will face many difficulties and come up against dangerous situations, maybe end up being trafficking victims or losing their lives.

"The good thing is that most of the times boys who leave here contact us and send a message when they arrive safely to their destination. Either they call us, or communicate with other boys here," she added.

Levanti along with other members of "Stegi Plus" staff try to make the minors feel like home.

"We become family. We eat together, we share our lives, I spend more hours here than at my home. When a boy is sick, or there is an outdoor activity and needs escort I stay by his side."

"Stegi Plus", which started operating in January 2014, is one of the 18 accommodation centers providing housing, healthcare and other services to unaccompanied minors in Greece until the age of 18.

It is funded by European programs - mainly with financing from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein - while the managing authority is the International Organization of Migration (IOM).

During their stay, there is a period of adjustment for the child to feel relaxed, to know the space and get familiar with the other boys. At a second level, there are psychologists who try to approach the child and learn more about his story.

The boys can attend school, take lessons in English, or any other language they want depending on the country they will go.

They have indoor and outdoor activities to continue their life, can communicate with their families and feel welcome until they reach their destination a safer way. Endit