In the light of recent world facts, there has been growing attention paid to refugee minors who, fleeing from violence, war, poverty and climate change, or seeking better opportunities, hope to reach safety in Europe. Challenging life experiences such as war, violence, forced displacement, etc., can potentially threaten children’s development. However, many succeed in turning their lives around and develop well despite such negative circumstances. Refugee children, often overlooked by immigration laws and policy makers, prove to be a particularly resilient group, very resourceful in mechanisms for overcoming life adversities. By taking this understanding of refugee minors as a starting point, this article provides an overview of research in the field of resilience, aiming to discuss the implications that tie refugee minors’ well-being to the human and children’s rights obligations that society bears towards them. The article concludes that there is an urgent need for interventions and programs which target factors that promote refugee children’s resilience in their design and implementation, informed by current knowledge of refugee children’s life and cultural background, and their self-ratings of negative and positive life events. The standards defined by human and children’s rights instruments and equity regarding children’s rights to achieve a good life should be a matter to be taken seriously for all children worldwide.

Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his/her own potential, can cope with the normal stress of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his/her community (World Health Organization, 2004). War and disasters have the greatest impact on mental health and psychosocial well-being. A considerable number of child refugees enter Europe to seek refuge from ongoing conflict and war in their home countries. Refugee children are at greater risk of psychological distress than non-refugee children and they may develop symptoms such as depression, PTSD, anxiety, physical problems or become aggressive. Trauma can impact the children’s physical well-being, cognitive development and psychological/emotional well-being and behavior. Therefore, these children are identified as having unique; however, urgent mental health needs requiring timely interventions. According to these findings, in this article the author is trying to explain the mental health problems and interventions among two refugee children (brother and sister) who stayed in the Transit Centre “Vinojug” in Gevgelija, Republic of Macedonia, two years ago. They had significant psychological disturbances such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, because they lost their home and their father. They have been here only with their pregnant mother. At the beginning they needed individual psychiatric or psychological support, but later also group psycho-social support. Verbal, art and game-based interventions proved effective in reducing the PTSD symptoms and depression. After that, the children showed positive emotions such as gratitude, hope, happiness, and optimism. At the same time they started to attend the local school and the first words in Macedonian language were: “Hello, how are you?” They have already learned the Macedonian language and counted in Macedonian; they knew how to ask for water and learned the basic terms. Hence, when they left the Transit Center with their mother, they were very sad: “Here we have many new friends who help and love us”. Our study provides a strong evidence base regarding the use of verbal and clinical interventions for PTSD and emotional and behavioral difficulties, respectively. Also, the main goal of the psychological workshop is stimulation of the copy strategies, resilience and psychosocial development through structured playful activities such as voice, movement, painting, drawing, song, sound.