Sicily: 'Scared, hungry and barefoot', teenage boys reach migrant shelter

 After their boat from Tunisia ran aground in Sicily, three boys made their way on foot all the way to the migrant hosting center. The social worker who welcomed them, Antonella Patellaro, spoke about their meeting.

"When they arrived, we were in the office. One of the facility's guests told us there were three boys in the courtyard asking for help. So we got out and welcomed them", said Antonella Patellaro, a 31-year-old social worker at the initial reception center 'Selinus' in Castelvetrano, Sicily. The facility, which opened last June, hosts only unaccompanied migrant minors.

The teenagers arrived at the facility in the morning of Monday (October 30) after reaching the beach of Marinella di Selinunte on Friday night.

'They were scared, hungry and barefoot'
"They were around 16 years of age, disoriented, (and) scared," said Patellaro. "When we saw them, we immediately realized that they had landed recently, they were wearing tracksuits and were barefoot, although one of them had a pair of sneakers in his hands while the other two were holding slippers.

They immediately asked for water and food; we made them sit down and gave them croissants, sweets and water and, in the meantime, called the Carabinieri police," she continued.

Speaking Arabic, the three boys said they had reached the island on a vessel that ran aground on Friday. Their faces immediately looked sad when they spoke about the incident, said Patellaro. They had walked through the countryside, spending two days trekking for kilometers across unknown territory, without money or phones.

'We will welcome them with joy if they return'
"They told us that they first walked to Campobello di Mazara where some Tunisians they met advised them to reach Castelvetrano, which has hosting centers for minors, like ours," added the social worker.

"They said that they wanted to return here while they were getting into the car of the Italian Red Cross, that took them to the identification center of the Milo district in Trapani," she went on to recount.

Patellaro said they were smiling when they left and were calmer than when they had arrived.

"We said a heartfelt goodbye," she recalled, wondering whether they would be reassigned to the center once all procedures have been completed. "We are ready to welcome them back with joy," she concluded.