She cries, complains about the pain in her arms and does nothing but ask for news of her parents and little sister, but does not spare unequivocal gestures of thanks to those who are doing their utmost for her, doctors and nurses, hugging their hands and kissing them.
Nalina is the youngest – only ten years old – of the survivors of yet another tragedy at sea, the sinking of the sailing boat on which she was with her family and another seventy desperate people, about sixty of whom disappeared in the waters of the Ionian Sea about 120 miles from the Calabrian coast and among them 26 children.
She, together with 10 other Iraqi and Iranian migrants, were saved by managing to cling to the semi-submerged boat, until it was recovered by the crew of a merchant ship and entrusted to the Coast Guard who brought everyone to safety in the port of Roccella Ionic.
A woman was also part of the group but she didn’t make it and died during the journey to the Calabrian port.
Now Nalina is lying on a bed in the Locri hospital where the staff takes care of her, not only from a physical point of view – her condition has significantly improved – but also morally, showing her all the affection that is possible in moments like these.
“The little girl does nothing, even if with gestures since she only speaks Iraqi, other than thanking us for what we have done for her so far. What, however, saddens us most and makes us feel helpless is that she continually asks for news of her family members and why her parents have not yet come to visit her and meet her”, says the head of the Pediatrics department of the Locri hospital Antonio Musolino and the medical director of the same department Rosanna Lia.
“For us – they explain – it is really difficult to deal with such a situation. It is clear, however, that as soon as Nalina gets even better, those in charge, certainly not us doctors, will have to start addressing with her the issue of her related to her family members”.
In fact, the little Iraqi girl still doesn’t know that her family members are on the list of missing at sea and that, barring miracles, she will hardly be able to see them alive again. The searches have been going on continuously since yesterday, when the alarm was raised, but as the rescuers point out, the chances of surviving in the water, in the open sea, especially without rescue tools, are slim to a minimum.
(Handle)
