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Reggio Emilia, December 23, 2020 – From Ivory Coast, off the coast of West Africa, were found Reggio after eight months. It’s the story of one mother and yours son, only five years, separated by a trip that brought them to the same country, but to different regions. During a period of spacing And the distance imposed, the protagonists of this story have received a unique Christmas gift, which reflects the strength of an indissoluble bond. The mayor announced it for the first time Luca vecchi, this morning, on Facebook: «A mother hugging her son, lost in a shipwreck several months ago. In this difficult 2020, this hug is one of the most beautiful Christmas gifts for all of us ”, followed by numerous comments from people expressing their joy.
Making the happy ending possible, in fact, was the social service of the Municipality together with the Juvenile Court of Bologna, the Prefecture, the social cooperative l’Ovile and the tutor. By combining their efforts, different realities and organizations have crossed the path of three migrants: behind this hug, in fact, there is also the will to spend for others and the tenacity of a girl, also a migrant, who took care of the little Ivorian in the months that kept him away from his mother. It is she who arrived at the Santa María emergency room together with the child, who was not feeling well. Perhaps also due to ignorance of our language, after trying to introduce herself as the mother, she would have said she was the aunt. Until he decided to tell the truth, which brings with it the reflections of a journey that many other migrants undertake trying their luck: the child is not his relative, but the son of another woman he met on the odyssey to Tunisia, earlier. to head towards the Italian shores. Together with the little boy, she wanted to go to France to meet her father but, blocked by the circumstances that arise when so many people are in a single makeshift vehicle, she was unable to get on the same boat as her son. That’s right, somehow, he entrusted his son to this young migrant, making her promise not to abandon him.
In Reggio, however, the two Ivorians arrived without documents. Thus began the long process of investigations and the subsequent appointment of a Legal guardian, to verify that the child had not been abandoned or kidnapped, or more simply that the story was true. The young woman and the baby were placed in a reception facility from social services, while the biological mother, in August, managed to reach Agrigento. The two women then managed to get in touch, then also supported by various cultural mediators who acted as a linguistic link with social services.
The doubts about the veracity of this story disappeared at the time ofhug between mom and son: he, immediately, did not even want to speak, but only to be hugged again. The operators, in addition to the perceptible joy at the moment of the scene, are also convinced that the young migrant grew up in a loving environment and positive family relationships (this is also confirmed by video calls in which the mother also involves relatives who remained in the Ivory Coast). Their behaviors are also proof of this: is learning italian and, before seeing her again, she repeated to everyone that she was waiting for her mother.
In the meantime, she managed to be accommodated in a reception center in Reggio, after numerous red tape. The African girl who helped them reunite, on the other hand, is in a facility for asylum seekers – here you can start your own ‘migration project‘, or personal path, which he had left open just to fulfill the promise he made on the ship. The boy is described as curious, tenacious and awake, and he certainly hopes to continue his stay in the same shelter where his mother is. The Court must formally express itself on this possibility, which also becomes a hope. The hope that this ‘Christmas miracle’, as it has been defined, can really materialize when mother and son can also legally live under the same roof.
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