The community is competing to help the Syrian family. After the quarantine, treatment will begin at the Inail Prosthesis Center in Budrio
“When will I be able to have my legs?” How long must I wait?”. Mustafa’s direct questions, reported by father Munzir and translated by the interpreter, strike the archbishop of Siena Paolo Lojudice at least as much as the vivacity of the child. “It is a force of nature – repeats the cardinal, just out of the house made available by Caritas to host the family of the 6-year-old Syrian child born without limbs due to the damage caused by chemical weapons -. Mustafa spends his time laughing, playing and rolling on the ground with his little sisters Nur and Sacide. Then all of a sudden he stops and looks at you with his dark and deep eyes: it is as if he understood the situation perfectly and wanted to reassure everyone by saying that he will make it ».
Outside the Arbia apartment, a village nestled in the hills taking the road to Asciano, there is a coming and going of people. Although Mustafa and his family must observe ten days of quarantine for Covid. «They won us over with their kind and delicate ways, they even brought chocolates – says those who exchanged a few words with them while keeping their distance -. When they arrived on Friday night they were very tired but Munzir, despite the amputation of a leg, went out of his way to accommodate the archbishop as a true master of the house. Zeyneb, the mother, who is 27 years old, is very sweet and very caring ».
The phrase “Now Mustafa is also your son”, pronounced by the parents who have just landed in Italy, has hit the mark. Those who can try to make their contribution. “Operations like this are reconciling the heart,” says Riccardo Voltolini, head of the nearby agricultural consortium. “I can’t wait for them to come out because I want to invite the child to choose a toy,” smiles enthusiastically Monja Mangone, who has a newsagent across the street. “I’m happy they arrived, for now I saw them from the balcony and we waved goodbye,” explains Jogindar Singh, an Indian from Punjab who has lived with his wife and children in the same building for a year. The al-Nazzal family is on the ground floor: living room, kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms and a small outdoor area. Yesterday the day was marked by the first tasks of their new daily life, starting with the shopping list: eggs, tomatoes, vegetables, olives, cheese and tea. To assist them, in addition to the linguistic mediator and the operators of Caritas Paolo and Maria, a psychologist will also arrive in a week. “They must be helped to orient themselves” clarified by the diocese. Munzir and Zeynep reiterated that their goal is to have their firstborn treated as soon as possible. “We started trusting you, even if until we were on the second plane, the one that took us from Istanbul to Rome, we feared that our dream would not come true – they told Luca Venturi, director of the Siena Awards photo competition from which the mobilization to welcome them in Italy has started. Only now do we begin to realize what is happening to us ». «I reassured them and tried to explain nand details about the next steps »confirms Venturi, who in recent months has kept in touch with Munzir via WhatsApp, writing in Arabic thanks to Google Translate and receiving dozens of red flower-shaped emojis as thanks. At the beginning of February, medical examinations and x-rays await them. Then, once the medical records are ready, the transfer to the Inail prosthesis center in Budrio. The other challenge, alongside the therapeutic path, will be that of integration. Nobody is in a hurry. “It is important that they make their choices and build their future by themselves – concludes Monsignor Lojudice -. We are ready to keep the commitment we have made with them for as long as it takes. At least at the beginning we would like to be their legs and arms a little bit. “
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