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To his jailers Silvia Romano he asked for a notebook. I wanted to write every detail, write dates and shifts, express feelings. Become her diary. The jailers took it before releasing her, but now, sitting in front of the prosecutor Sergio Colaiocco and the Carabinieri del Ros, he allows her to rebuild her 18 months in captivity. He does it with a resonant voice, a calm tone, even if the movement of the hands betrays the emotion and suffering suffered. A harrowing story that the young volunteer captured on November 20, 2018 in a Kenyan village began with the psychologist who met her at the embassy in Mogadishu and always stayed close to her, even on the flight that took her back to Italy. . Silvia confirmed that she had converted. Only to her did he reveal that my name is Aisha now.
The month-long trip to Somalia
Silvia goes back in time and remembers the moments of capture, the three men who took her away from the town of Chakama, 80 kilometers from Malindi, where she works for the non-profit organization Africa Milele. They are the perpetrators, they immediately hand him over to the gang that ordered the kidnapping. The journey begins to arrive in Somalia. lasted about a month. At first there were two bikes, then one broke. We did many stretches on foot, we crossed a river. There were men with me, we also walked eight, nine hours straight. It was five or six. When word spread that she was injured in the shooting and someone speculates that she may have been killed, the girl has already reached the first study. the only woman, they lock her in a room.
I cried for a month
The first days are dramatic. I was desperate, I was always crying. The first month was terrible. Then slowly he calms down. They told me that they would not harm me, that they would treat me well. I asked for a notebook, I knew it would help me. Diplomacy e intelligence They are already working, looking for a negotiating channel convinced that they are still in Kenya. It was the local police who made sure that the young woman in her territory, on the other hand, at Christmas 2018 Silvia had already crossed the border. Obviously this also delayed the activation of the correct channels, but Aise specialists led by General Luciano Carta after a few months still managed to grab a thread. The track leads to the fundamentalist group Al Shabab. The negotiation begins with the request for a proof of life. Meanwhile, Silvia has already been transferred to a new prison. He was always in a single room, sleeping on the floor on some sheets. They didn’t beat me and I never suffered violence. Although Silvia says so, she does not know that outside the barracks there are those who say that she was married to one of the jailers, even that she is pregnant. He doesn’t know, but his words are enough: they didn’t force me to do anything. They gave me food and when they entered the room, the kidnappers always had their faces covered. They spoke in a language that I don’t know, I believe in the dialect. She asks to be able to read. One of them, just one, spoke some English. I asked him for books and then I asked to have the Koran too. right now your conversion journey is likely to begin. I have always been locked in the rooms. I read it and wrote it. He was certainly in the villages, several times a day he heard the muezzin calling the faithful to pray.
They made me record three videos
Weeks go by, Silvia moves again. I had never seen women, only those men who held me prisoner. Meanwhile, the negotiation channel remains open, although in the midst of a thousand difficulties. But apparently it works because Silvia says they made her shoot a video in which she must say her name, the date, to make sure it’s okay. Italian intelligence collaborates with Somali colleagues, but also receives help from Turkey, which has a very strong influence in that area and obviously knows how to activate the correct contacts. Sources are reassuring, it takes weeks to get reliable information. The 007 constantly keep Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who has the delegation in the secret services, constantly informed. Farnesina’s crisis unit manages relations with family members. In November, a few days before the first anniversary of the capture, it is certain that Silvia lives. The video evidently reached its destination. During my imprisonment, Silvia says now, I shot three.
Segregated in six prisons
There is a civil war in Somalia, traveling is difficult. However, the kidnappers decide to change prison. At the end, Silvia counts six, writes everything in her diary. Repeat it now. We moved on foot or by car. Long and exhausting transfers. On January 17, record another video. She does not imagine it, but in the end it will be precisely that film that will guarantee her salvation. Meanwhile, she is converted. I read the Koran, I prayed. My reflection was long and finally became a decision. It is only time to know if this election has affected the psychological pressure that he suffered in these 18 months and to what extent, the syndrome that often links hostages to the reality of the kidnappers. The magistrate and the carabinieri let her speak without asking questions, if not those related to violence. And she denies it again. Her memories are precise, her history full of dates and circumstances. And as she does, she seems calm, though proven. I was transferred every three or four months, but at that time I was no longer afraid. Ransom says he had never heard of it, but I understood that they wanted money. The group accused of kidnapping other Westerners. I have never seen anyone else, says Silvia.
The announcement seven days ago: we set you free
At the beginning of this year, the negotiation enters the final phase. Other sources are paid, preparations are made to pay the ransom. The total figure could fluctuate between two and four million euros, reserved funds that nobody will track as always happens in these cases. Then comes the coronavirus epidemic, the world enters confinement, contact management seems more difficult, but still continues. In mid-April, the intelligence obtains the video of the proof of life. My name is Silvia Romano, on January 17 … after a while has passed, but new comments come in from Turkey, the green light to try again. Until a week ago When arrangements are made for the exchange. Silvia is warned by the jailers: we set you free. Now it is confirmed to the magistrate. The beginning of the end, the countdown for everyone.
Exchange and return home
On Friday May 8, while there are several explosions in Mogadishu, intelligence emissaries take the hostage. A car trip of about 30 kilometers and after an intermediate stop, Silvia enters the embassy. I’m fine, I’ve been treated well, says Ambassador Alberto Vecchi. Wear local clothing, don’t want to take it off. Eat a pizza, finally sleep on a bed. There are always men of intelligence at his side and the psychologist who compiles his first story, helps him if he needs to fix his thoughts. He talks to her about conversion, reveals what he has decided to call himself. He explains that he will discuss all this with his family, with his mother. For her, she will explain everything, she says before getting off the ladder of the state plane that took her home.
May 11, 2020 (change May 11, 2020 | 07:28)
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