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Synopsis

According to Mohamed, "Most of the 200 kids I met at the children's shelters who had also sneaked into the country, on boats or clinging to the underside of trucks, ended up on the street, sniffing glue or robbing people."

It's hard to know whether or not this is an exaggeration because there are no clear statistics available, but the fact is, for the hundreds of minors who have immigrated to Catalonia from Morocco or other parts of Africa the going is tough. By law they should be taken in by Catalan government-run children's shelters and given help in getting working papers, job training and general support to integrate into society. But this is often not the case.

This "30 Minuts" report focuses on a group of youngsters who have received this support but since they are no longer minors, they are now faced with the challenge of going out into the world on their own. Mohamed, Mustafà and Bridget, and their friends David, Zacarías and Ernest each have very different stories to tell, ranging from living the life of outcasts and delinquents to fulfilling their dreams: having working papers, a place to live and a job.

Mustafà and David are working on an exciting project. They want to make a music video of their rap song "Emigration," with the hope that it will one day be broadcast on TV in Senegal. They want to discourage Senegalese kids from coming to Europe because they feel that the hope to find their dream-come-true abroad comes at too high a price.

Mohamed has started a new job and received his first paycheck, leaving behind his days of sleeping on the street. Bridget has not been as lucky: she was expelled from a children's shelter because medical tests showed that she was over the age of 18, though according to her passport she is just 17. A group of nuns have taken her in under their care, but that is probably only a six-month arrangement, so every night is a countdown to achieving her dream, which could very easily turn into a nightmare.

These young people all crossed paths at the vocational training school for restaurant and hotel work run by the Raval District Children's Day Center in Barcelona. They came here with the hope of being able to send money back home to their families, but arriving in a foreign country as a child or adolescent with little education and no family support, where the system they encounter is confusing at best and, at times, cruel, is not the best way to start a new life. Most of these kids―the successful ones and those who are still struggling―regret having made this move but most of them also feel that, no matter what, there is no turning back.