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Hibo from Somalia
As an adult, Hibo works with unaccompanied minors
When war broke out
– When I was 12, war broke out in Somalia and in Mogadishu, where I lived with my family, mum, dad and seven brothers and sisters. One day when my 17-year-old brother and I were on our way home from school we were caught in the middle of a shoot-out and I was injured in my left leg, says Hibo.
When Hibo, helped by her brother, managed to get back to the family home, they found that it had been almost completely destroyed. Their parents and other brothers and sisters were nowhere to be seen.
– There was chaos everywhere and my leg was hurting very badly. My brother made sure we got on a truck on its way to the Red Cross medical centre.
The Red Cross helped the brother and sister
On the way to the Red Cross, the brother and sister were again attacked and this time Hibo's brother died after being seriously injured in gunfire. Hibo was severely shocked and spent two months at the Red Cross hospital where her left leg was amputated.
At the Red Cross, she received care and they made several unsuccessful attempts to find Hibo's family. After leaving hospital, she was cared for by friends of the family and lived for two and a half years as an internal refugee at various locations in Somalia. In the end, they went to Addis Abbeba in Ethiopia to take refuge. After a month there, a refugee smuggler helped Hibo, then 15 years old, to get to Sweden. The fact that it was Sweden she went to was just a coincidence.
- I didn't know anything about Sweden other than that it was a small country in northern Europe, says Hibo.
Hibo meets the authorities in Sweden
When she arrived in Sweden, Hibo was left outside the police station in Märsta by a woman from the smuggling organisation. The police arranged somewhere for her to stay for the first few nights. The Immigration Board at that time was responsible for her accommodation and she had to move to Carlslund. After just a couple of months, Hibo was told that she had been granted a residence permit in Sweden.
- Up till that point, I felt as if I were in a vacuum. I felt very bad, not so much because of the worry about whether I would be able to stay or not. I felt alone and abandoned and thought constantly about what had happened my parents and brothers and sisters. I had difficulty eating, often fainted and had problems with the prosthesis. For a time, I was given treatment at Sundsvall Hospital.
– Everyone was so kind and I was given a lot of help. The personnel at Carlslund and at the hospital in Sundsvall did their very best in taking care of me and with great warmth, remembers Hibo.
Moving to accommodation for unaccompanied minors
A little over four months after arrival in Sweden, Hibo moved to Härnösand and the municipal group accommodation, Semret, for unaccompanied minors with residence permits.
– Here, we were like a big family with other children and young people in the same situation as I was. I missed my family terribly and this sense of loss was always with me. Life was not always easy but the staff here were fantastic and a constant source of support in every way. In a way, although technically I was, of course, an orphan, I actually had several “mums" and “dads."
C
onvention on the Rights of the Child
The Convention on the Rights of the Child gives every child under the age of 18 certain rights.
Article 3 is often used.
1. In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.
2. States Parties undertake to ensure the child such protection and care as is necessary for his or her well-being, taking into account the rights and duties of his or her parents, legal guardians, or other individuals legally responsible for him or her, and, to this end, shall take all appropriate legislative and administrative measures.
3. States Parties shall ensure that the institutions, services and facilities responsible for the care or protection of children shall conform with the standards established by competent authorities, particularly in the areas of safety, health, in the number and suitability of their staff, as well as competent supervision.
