Children’s understanding of the meaning of asylum, including by those who have made an application, was very limited, and children often highlighted that the red card meant they would not be arrested. According to 15-year-old Nurullah F. from Afghanistan, his father told him to flee from a refugee camp after the killing of a relative due to links to a political group. His understanding of asylum was as follows: “I know that if I have the red card I have regular status for six months, so I decided to have the red card.”125 The government-funded Red Cross program in Patras was a positive example of providing access to asylum procedures for unaccompanied children and asylum seekers in general. Unaccompanied children arrested by police or port police were referred to the Red Cross, informed about their rights to seek asylum and offered a place in a care center. The Red Cross assisted more than 100 unaccompanied children in filing an asylum application within the two years the program was operating. The program, however, was halted at the end of August 2008 after funding by the EU and the Greek government was used up.126 Representation during Asylum Procedures As mentioned above, a child aged 14 or older and deemed mature enough to understand the meaning of an asylum application does not have to be represented by his or her guardian by law, and the police in that case only have to inform the child’s guardian. This obligation to notify the child’s guardian stops if the child is 16 or 17 years old, if he or she is likely to turn 18 before the first-instance decision, or if the child is married or has been married.127 These legal loopholes result in an absence of legal representation and protection of unaccompanied children in the asylum procedure. None of the children interviewed by Human Rights Watch who submitted their asylum applications at Petrou Ralli police station have been represented by a guardian or lawyer. The Greek Council for Refugees told Human Rights Watch they do 125 Human Rights Watch interview with Nurullah F., Athens, May 27, 2008. 126 Email correspondence from Dora Papadopoulou, Hellenic Red Cross, to Human Rights Watch, September 4, 2008. 127 Presidential Decree 90/2008, art. 12.1-3. 45 Human Rights Watch December 2008