Turkish ministry launches search tool to reunite unaccompanied children with their families

Out of 1,890 unaccompanied children registered with government, 1,405 have been handed over to loved ones

By Rabia Ali

ISTANBUL (AA) - Children lost or separated from their families after the Feb. 6 twin quakes in Türkiye can be reunited with loved ones through a new online tool launched by the Turkish Family and Social Services Ministry.

Families can access details about their children by entering information such as the Turkish identity number, or full name of the child on a search portal added on the ministry's official website, www.aile.gov.tr.

“Our citizens will now be able to quickly access the information about unaccompanied children that we have registered by entering necessary information on the query screen on the ministry’s website,” Derya Yanik, the family and social services minister, said in a statement.

Since the massive earthquakes, the ministry has registered in its database 1,890 unaccompanied children who were found from under the rubble. Out of them, 1,405 children were handed to their families. Some 1,784 were identified while 106 remain unidentified.

The ministry said 380 children are currently in hospitals, while 105 others in institutional care.

After the deadly earthquakes, a 10-line hotline call center was also established by the ministry to help children locate their families, or vice versa, along with its existing ALO 183 service hotline.

The ministry is also using facial recognition and matching program, DerinGORU, developed by the Scientific and Technological Research Council to identify children and reunite them with their families.

The program uses information about children such as distinctive features, physical appearance, hair and eye color, birthmarks and photographs in a bid to match information from the parents. A total of 206 children have been matched through this program.

Yanik in an interview with a TV channel said they have not handed any child to any third party, adding that the minors whose treatment has been completed are being handed over directly to institutions and organizations within the ministry.

Kaynak:

This news has been read 117 times in total