Track of the Day: Wyvern Lingo release 'Brutal Lottery' in aid of Europe's missing children

Wicklow trio Wyvern Lingo are releasing their second song of 2020, following the successful single 'Don't Say It'.

The track was the group’s first piece of new music since their self-titled debut record was released in 2018, before the Bray band relocated to Berlin.

Changing their usual R&B pop sound for a hugely important cause; Caoimhe Barry, Karen Cowley and Saoirse Duane are dropping a sobering, unflinching ballad in aid of refugee children - 'Brutal Lottery'.

"I saw the headline '10,000 refugee children are missing' in 2016, and couldn't stop thinking about it," Karen Cowley of Wyvern Lingo said.

In 2016, Europol reported that 10,000 refugee and migrant children were missing upon arrival in Europe.

Shockingly, the most recent report from the European Migration Network in 2018 states that the number had risen to at least 30,000.

It's presumed that this number is now significantly higher in 2020 as a result of further wars, genocide, poverty, trafficking, sexual violence, famine and climate-related environmental disasters.

"With some friends, I embarked on a lot of research and ended up being part of a campaign (10,000 Missing Children) aimed at changing policy on the European Union’s treatment of unaccompanied refugee minors.

"During this time, Caoimhe, Saoirse and I wrote this song about the topic, and about the harrowing stories and statistics we came across," Karen adds.

"With guidance from organisations such as Missing Children Europe, the Irish Refugee Council, the Children's Rights Alliance and the Immigrant Council of Ireland along with the help of many Irish MEPs, we were able to gather over 30,000 signatures and submit the petition along with demands to the Justice and Home Affairs council of Europe.

"Four years on, however, it seems that there has not been much of an improvement in Europe's reception policy that is failing these children. We recorded this last winter in Berlin, all singing live together in one take," says the artist.

"Given the recent shift in the global conversation about racism and the many dangers that people of colour are subjected to in our society, this felt like the right time to release this song, which is unfortunately as relevant as it was four years ago."

This failing of the European immigration system reflects the anti-immigrant and racist sentiments that are on the rise in Europe.

Just last week, a Sudanese migrant named as Abdulfatah Hamdallah drowned in the English Channel attempting to reach the UK to gain international protection, which is legal. He had lived in the Calais 'jungle' camps for two months prior to his death, with some Daily Mail readers reacting gleefully to the incident. Speculation remains over whether he was 16 or 28-years-old.

The idea that a child might be considered more or less important to a community based on their origin is a jarring thought, but unfortunately it appears to have been the case over the last number of years.

No parent would send their child on such a dangerous journey unless they really believed there was no better alternative.

To donate, visit Missing Children Europe's website here.

Watch the beautiful lyric video for Wyvern Lingo's 'Brutal Lottery' below: