 Under international and European law, migrant children should be given protection and humanitarian assistance. Detention must only be used as a last resort. But how does Europe really treat this most vulnerable group? A three-month investigation by Investigate Europe shows that from Greece to the French island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, Europe detains migrant children en masse, with seemingly little regard for their well-being. For this, despite the European Court of Human Rights repeatedly condemning member states for exposing minors to inhuman or degrading treatment. To camouflage the harsh reality, the EU deploys euphemisms for detention centers such as protective custody, welcome centers, transit zones and safe zones. It was in one such safe zone in the migrant camp of Moria in Greece that in August 2019 an Afghan teenager was murdered. Such violence is just the tip of the iceberg. Thousands of minors, both unaccompanied and with families, have been confined in dangerous conditions in overcrowded camps and even police stations. Investigate Europe visited many such detention facilities across the continent, conducting interviews with first-hand witnesses from state officials to psychologists and pediatricians. They describe the grave consequences of depriving minors of their liberty. Minors are denied access to proper schooling. They do not receive vital medical care. They are prone to depression, sometimes even to suicidal thoughts. They frequently face violence and abuse, including sexual abuse. Who is to blame? Many observers point to the mismanagement of EU funds, especially in the case of front-line countries such as Greece. But to date, few European countries have shown any inclination to seriously address these human rights abuses. In Greece, there are currently 4,500 unaccompanied minors. In 2019, the Greek government proposed to keep 1,500 and distribute the remaining 3,000 to the other 27 EU member states. The number was hardly astronomical, yet the proposal was rejected. Such examples indicate that human rights abuses in Europe's outposts might not be the result of incompetence and corruption, but the desired effect of policies drawn up in the heart of Europe, that is, to create the ideal deterrent. So next time we Europeans look with disgust at what Donald Trump does to children on the US-Mexico border, we better take a closer look. The monster that we see is nothing more than our own reflection.