Every year it is estimated that between 150 and 800 young people from a migrant background are left behind abroad by parents or custodians (source: www.huiselijkgeweld.nl).

Although the phenomenon of abandonment has been around for a much longer time, professionals and authorities have only really noticed its seriousness in recent years, according to KIS researcher Eliane Smits van Waesberghe. This practice is considered child abuse in the Netherlands because of the disruption it introduces into a child’s life after they have been left aboard with a relative and often, in unfamiliar surroundings.