A GROUNDBREAKING INVESTIGATION which revealed the true scale of unaccompanied child migrants who have disappeared in Europe has won the 2024 Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism.

The investigation was led by Lost in Europe, in collaboration with media outlets across eight European countries. Lost in Europe is a not-for-profit journalism platform which investigates and uncovers the stories of child migrants ‘lost’ after arriving in Europe. 

The Journal Investigates team of reporter Patricia Devlin and editor Maria Delaney were the only Irish partners on this project and were awarded the prestigious prize with the rest of the cross-border team this evening. 

The Prize rewards outstanding journalism that promotes or defends the core principles and values of the EU such as freedom, equality and human rights. 

It is named in honour of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia who was assassinated with a car bomb in 2017. In addition to her involvement in the Panama Papers, her work exposed organised crime as well as corrupt politicians and police.

The award-winning investigation, published in April, found at least 51,433 unaccompanied child migrants disappeared after arriving in European countries between 2021 and 2023. It uncovered the staggering reality that, on average, nearly 47 children have vanished each day after arriving in Europe since 2021.

Lost in Europe @Lost_in_EU wins the 2024 Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for #Journalism for its investigation into the disappearance of over 50 000 #child migrants
Watch the acceptance speech📺https://t.co/Gn9Dhq2VTx@EP_President @EuroParlPress @pinapic @mcaruanagalizia pic.twitter.com/Ifl2TQcKKg

— European Parliament Audiovisual Service (@europarlAV) October 23, 2024

The months-long investigation shows that the actual figure of missing migrant children could be even higher, as inconsistent documentation and the lack of data collection by some countries contribute to significant gaps in reporting.

In addition, our team reported that Ireland has experienced a 500% increase in the number of children arriving alone to claim asylum. We also showed that 29 child migrants have disappeared in Ireland without a trace from State care between January 2021 and April 2024 – including at least one 13 year-old. 

These revelations came just months after Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman said that the Garda operation focusing on missing children is being reviewed, following an investigation by The Journal Investigates last December.  

Your support makes a difference

Editor of The Journal Investigates Maria Delaney said it was down to support from readers that their team was given the time and space to work as part of this award-winning consortium. 

The Journal Investigates is one of the few places in Ireland whose media outlet is willing to invest in this type of in-depth investigative journalism as it takes significant time and resources. 

“We are grateful to have been able to work alongside journalists across Europe, in particular the Lost in Europe team, and help uncover these important findings.

“This would not be possible without support from our readers’ fund so thank you to everyone who contributes and makes this work possible.”

Prize-winning team

Over 20 journalists from across Europe contributed to this investigation and were awarded the prize today. 

From Lost in Europe, this includes Geesje van Haren, Emma van den Hof, Ismail Einashe, Cecilia Ferrara, Angela Gennaro, Adriana Homolova, Sanne Terlingen, Jan Wiese, Kristof Clerix, Doruntina Islamaj, Roeland Termote, Elli Zotou, Qali Nur, Huub Jaspers, Kate Stanworth and Rosa Meneses.

Other contributors were Patricia Devlin and Maria Delaney from The Journal Investigates as well as Tina Friedrich, Carlotta Dotto, Wubby Luyendijk, Winny de Jong and Emma Wallis.