On the occasion of the recent ones disappearances of children The media has been busy lately and a big issue has come to the fore again for parents and for our society in general.
Newsbeast.gr contacted the social worker and head of the European Hotline for the Disappearances of Children 116000 but also the president of Child Smile Konstantinos Giannopoulos focusing on their subject disappearances and what minors need to do to protect themselves and what their parents need to know and be advised in case someone close to them approaches them.
As Sia Kakarumba points out, prevention in this matter is very important, explaining: "Parents should be in open communication with their children, be friends and discuss everything. They should have prepared and advised them children what they should do if they are approached by a stranger. "
When they leave the house, the children should stay close to their parents or the person who accompanies them, explains the head of the European Disappearances Line, stating: They have been told that they need to be calm and that they will do their best to find them. When a child is lost in an outdoor space, he should stay as close as possible to the place where he disappeared and not move away. The further away the child is, the more difficult it will be for him to orient himself. For example if he is with his parents in one department store they have to give a point where they will meet if they get lost. "
«In case a stranger approaches the child and tries to tell him to follow him, he should not be called to shout "help". If the child feels that he is in danger, he should not consider that it is not right to shout even "he is not the one μπαμπάς me or the mum me "considering it rude" he adds.
"The parents They must have taught their children their address and a telephone number so that they can use the information in case they get lost. However, the child should not give this information to a stranger who does not know his intentions. He should approach a police officer or people he sees accompanying children, especially large families, and go to a place that is more crowded, "he said.
As the social worker, Sia Kakarumba, points out, speaking to newsbeast.gr, parents should know that valuable time should not be wasted. "It simply came to our notice then. Don't wait for the first 24 hours to pass. Parents need to have a recent one photo of their child and give it to the Authorities so that the necessary actions can be taken ".
According to the president of the Child's Smile, as well as the data that the organization has collected in Greece, we do not have abductions of children by foreigners.
"There are cases of children leaving home alone. There are, of course, cases of children whose disappearance has to do with family and their environment in general. There should be no terrorism because it destroys children's souls. For example, a few days ago I heard a grandmother walking to the children shouting "come here, they will kidnap you". This does not happen in our country "explains Konstantinos Giannopoulos and adds:" Mainly cases of children leaving the home to escape a situation, they are influenced by social media or by people close to them. ”
According to the Child's Smile, in 2019 alone, 129 requests for support were made investigations search for missing children.
The majority of cases concern adolescents fleeing the family home while much less involve abductions / kidnappings by a family member.
From 1/1/2019 to 31/12/2019, the Child's Smile accepted through the "European Line for Missing Children 116000" requests for the support of search searches for missing children, of which:
Watch the video made by the Child's Smile for the disappearances of children:
"The Smile of the Child" operates the European Line for the Missing Children 116000, which provides free support to children who have disappeared, their family, while receiving anonymous and branded information about disappearances (teen escape, abduction, parental abduction, worrying disappearance) which he promotes to the competent authorities.
Line 116000 is staffed exclusively by specialized Social Workers and Psychologists and is available nationwide, 24 hours a day, 24 days a year.
Calls to Line 116000 are free of charge by landline and mobile phone, no prepaid card is required from a prepaid phone, while calling from prepaid phones does not require available units.
In addition, Line 116000 is linked to 112, the European Emergency Number, and is part of the Child Helpline International.
Line 116000 is available 24 hours a day, at business level:
Emphasizing communication with children and adolescents, in addition to telephone communication, children are given the opportunity to "talk" to us via: Email, Chat and Social Media.
At the material and technical level, Line 116000 is equipped with the latest technology machines and software and operates in 4 interconnected telephone exchanges as 1! This ensures a maximum standby time of 12sec.
The call centers of the European Disappeared Children's Line 116000 are:
It is worth noting that "The Smile of the Child", wanting to ensure the smooth operation of Line 116000 under any circumstances, also has an emergency call center in D.A.A. El. Venizelos.
The fact that the European Line for the Disappeared Children 116000 operates across Europe makes it a valuable tool in the support process for children in Greece as refugees and migrants. This need led the Organization to form a team of volunteer interpreters / mediators in Arabic and Farsi. At the same time, Line 116000 and the services it provides were communicated, through special leaflets, at the points of entry and stay of refugee and migrant children in Greece.
The European Line for Missing Children 116000 has been operating since 2007 after being numbered by EETT (National Telecommunications and Post Commission).
In 2016, the European Line for the Missing Children 116000 in Greece, in the context of the evaluation of all Lines 116000 pan-European, was certified by collecting the maximum score of 100%.