In a Twitter post, the Italian Red Cross described Alvin's return home as "a tremendous joy." "Alvin is in Italy. Now, it's in the arms of dad and sisters, ?the video says, where the baby meets the family after five years.
The president of the Italian Red Cross, Franceso Rocca, writes that "the situation is complex, but if there is political will, anything can be done."
#Alvin is in Italy! The time is the time of the brave and the brave. A Breve of the President of #CroceRossa Francesco Rocca racconterà all stamps and details of #UnItaliaCheAiuta pic.twitter.com/uaIJ6MxaGc
- Croce Rossa Italiana (@crocerossa) November 8, 2019
The 11-year-old's rescue came as a result of the cooperation of the "Syrian Half Moon", the Red Cross and the Italian and Albanian authorities.
In 2014, Alvin Berisha, then only 6 years old, was abducted by his mother Valbona Berisha and both fled Italy to ISIS-controlled territories. In December 2014, security cameras at the Orio al Serio Airport in Bergamo captured Alvin and his mother. Following the investigation, it was discovered that Valbona Berisha, through the Internet, had contacted some preachers of Islamic extremism.
Searches on her computer revealed people she had contacted, including online searches for the Caliphate, ISIS and extremism. Before he died, Valbona is said to have changed his name to Yussuf and lived 40km north of Aleppo in Syria.
The story shook public opinion as soon as it aired on Le Iene, especially after the neglect of the Albanian ambassador to Turkey, Genti Gazheli. Alvin's well-known Albanian characters also had public calls to help.
