In Rae, migrants’ claims of being minors have overwhelmed social services — ERR News
In the Estonian municipality of Rae near Tallinn, child protection services are overwhelmed by handling cases involving detained migrants who claim to be minors. Of the 60 people held at the local detention centre who reported being underage, checks confirmed this in only two cases, ERR News reports.
Rae Mayor Herli Lehe said that processing one such case takes about a day and a half. Child protection service employees must immediately respond to reports of unaccompanied minors arriving and, as their guardians, be present during all procedures.
The municipality requests support
According to Lehe, the crisis plan provided for the municipality to support the state until October 1, for a total of three months. After that, Rae expects additional resources and significantly greater assistance from the state. Local authorities note that the large number of such cases prevents specialists from properly working with children who need help within the municipality itself.
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Since September, Estonia’s state Social Insurance Board has taken on part of the workload. Kaja Rattas, head of the substitute care unit, explained that the law provides for assistance to local authorities in an emergency situation. According to her, the simultaneous arrival of a large number of people requiring representation made it necessary to urgently reorganize work.
Education and illegal border crossing
A separate problem remains the organization of education for minors held at the detention centre. It has not yet been determined in what format and in which languages they will be provided with education. Estonia’s Ministry of Social Affairs said that the scope of state support for Rae is still being discussed.
Since September 17, Estonian police have detained 46 foreigners who, according to their data, illegally entered Estonia through Latvia after crossing the border with Belarus. Interior Minister Igor Taro said that the wave of such arrivals, ongoing since July, is organized activity by another state. Since July, police have detained a total of 187 foreign nationals who illegally entered Estonia.
