In 2022, 17,130 reports of disappearance of minors were detected in Italy alone, of which 14,410 concerned the 15-17 age group. Of the 17,130 complaints, an average of 47 per day, 75.90% concern foreigners (an average of 36 per day) and 24.10% Italians (an average of 11 per day). These are some of the data of the dossier of Telefono Azzurro "The invisible children" that will be presented tomorrow, May 25 in Rome at the Teatro Rossini in Piazza di Santa Chiara on the occasion of the International Day of Missing Children.
"It is unacceptable that children are still not protected. Estimates say that only in Europe about 250,000 minors disappear every year, one every two minutes", says Telefono Azzurro.
"The disappearance of children is one of the most dramatic scourges of our society and is a theme that has expanded in recent years, especially today with the war in Ukraine with children fleeing war or being deported - says Ernesto Caffo, president of the SOS il Telefono Azzurro Onlus Foundation -. This plague is like a wound of knowledge and attention, as well as security. Suffering and the absence of attention and alertness cannot be transformed into disappearance. We must know the phenomenon to counteract it, we must create concrete and synergistic alert networks to intervene in a more timely and efficient manner, we must prevent to protect.
In the face of all this, it is necessary to find answers and this can only happen through the coordination of public institutions, non-profit associations and local authorities".
"What we need to think about is what are the needs of our communities today and what are the possibilities we have on the other hand to improve our ability to intervene - continues Caffo - Telefono Azzurro's approach has always been oriented towards constant listening that can however be converted into concrete action". All this is possible at international level through the network of Missing Children Europe and Icmec, while at local level there is a Single European Number for Missing Children 116,000. The 116,000 Service is an emergency number (hotline) belonging to the Ministry of the Interior, which with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding has entrusted its operational management to Telefono Azzurro.
The event will be streamed on: azzurro.it, ANSA.IT, Facebook of Sos il Telefono Azzurro Onlus.