Bitter-sweet family reunion in Sicily for Mediterranean capsize survivors

SANT'ANGELO MUXARO, Italy, November 12 (UNHCR) - On a recent emotionally charged November evening, members of four families were reunited in an isolated Sicilian commune far from their troubled homeland. They were linked by a terrible tragedy.

The 13 Syrian refugees in the town hall of Sant'Angelo Muxaro were passengers on a Europe-bound smuggler's boat that capsized on October 11 some 95 kilometres from Lampedusa Island, the southernmost territory of Italy. The Italian coastguard and Malta's Navy managed to save 211 people, but 27 bodies have been recovered and more than 250 are missing feared lost in the Mediterranean.

In the confusion, many family members who had survived were separated from each other, with unaccompanied children being taken to Sicily and adults to Malta. Waiting to hear about loved ones was an ordeal, but the families at Sant'Angelo Muxaro had been told as soon as possible about the fate of their missing relatives.

That made the reunion bitter-sweet for some, and a nerve-wracking experience for all after the long journey to reach a town that will now become their temporary home under an Italian government programme. Farah* almost fainted when she spotted her daughter out of the bus window at the end of the three-hour-long bus journey to Sant'Angelo Muxaro.

Hashim cried with happiness and pain while holding Dawud, aged two, in his arms. The boy's mother had drowned in the boat that was meant to bring them to safety after escaping from the violence inside their homeland, which has forced more than 2 million people to flee to other countries in the region.

Farah, her husband Jaber, and Hashim were among a group of six adults and one child brought from Malta to Sicily about three-and-a-half weeks after the high seas tragedy thanks to a joint humanitarian effort by UNHCR and its partners, including the governments of Malta and Italy, the Italian Red Cross, the International Organization for Migration, Save the Children and the Jesuit Refugee Service.

Normal bureaucratic procedures were speeded up, but the seven in Malta - Farah, Jaber, Hashim, Rashid, Ilham, Issam and his son Labib - had to prepare documentation and undergo DNA tests ordered by a juvenile court in Sicily.

"The procedures were very complex due to the involvement of children," noted UNHCR Regional Representative Laurens Jolles, while thanking all those involved in making the reunion possible in such a short space of time. "We are pleased to see that this family reunion has finally been accomplished," he said.

Once the paperwork was done, the group in Malta flew out of Valletta with a UNHCR staff member. The excitement was palpable as they prepared to leave Malta. "I don't mind if it's in Italy or Malta, I just want to be reunited with Amira," Farah kept repeating at the airport.

On the plane to Catania in eastern Sicily, four-year-old Labib fell asleep, probably unaware of the momentous meeting ahead of him with his brother Abdel. But his father, Issam, could not stop asking about his wife and two other children, who are still reported missing. The excitement and tension grew on the road journey to Sant'Angelo Muxaro. "How far is it? When do we get there?," kept asking Rashid and Ilham, who were finally to be reunited with their three young children, including a 10-month-old boy.

The four families will enter a reception project under Italy's Protection System for Asylum-Seekers and Refugees. They can live where they want in Italy while their applications for asylum are processed. The families will be given shelter, food, clothing, a living allowance and language classes as well as access to free education and health care. They will remain in the programme for up to a year.

Meanwhile, some of the children have already started embracing Italy and its culture and language. "Macchinina, macchinina," Abdel told his brother, pointing to a toy car as they played. Even Issam, their father, is determined to integrate. "I will learn Italian," he pledged.

* Names of the refugees changed for protection reasons

By Pietro Tesoriero and Anouar Belrhazi in Sant'Angelo Muxaro, Italy. Federico Fossi in Rome, Italy, contributed to this story.