?I was taught to fight. I was shot and screamed that I had to become a soldier. I was forced to speak only Arabic. ?The story of Alvin Berisha, just rescued from al-Hol camp in northeast Syria, is absolutely dramatic. The guy arrived at Fiumicino Airport this morning. He was rescued thanks to the co-operation of Criminalpol, the Ros carabinieri (who worked for years with the Milan Prosecutor's Office to remove the minor from the camp), Albanian state officials, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent.
Although he was six when his mother, Valbona, took him to Syria to join the Caliphate fighters, Alvin does not remember a word in Italian. He was forbidden to speak Italian as he was trained to fight. They had even changed their name: the militants called him Yusuf.
He remembered only a few Albanians and so communicated with his father, Afrim, who was waiting for him in Italy. "I miss my dad," Alvin told the people who accompanied him to Damascus and Beirut.
Life in the wilderness was not easy for Alvin. He suffered a heel injury that most likely requires surgery. The 11-year-old was injured in the bombing that left his mother and other children dead in the camp. "Mom dressed like a ninja," Alvin said in a recent phone call with his father in November 2014.
Francesco Rocca, president of the International Federation of Red Cross, thanked "all those involved in Alvin's safe return home, especially the Syrian Red Crescent and its president, Khaled Hboubati." He added: "This is good news. well, but it's a point of hope in an ocean of suffering. We demand that the states of the camp attendees be interested and intervene as soon as possible. ?
According to authorities, there are about 100,000 people in the camps, with 68,000 taking refuge in al-Hol. Of these, 28,000 are children from 60 countries around the world.
Adapted from La Stampa
