A teen travelled almost 5,000 kilometers hidden behind tyres, food and carpets, in the back of a lorry, from Afghanistan to Italy, to reach his father, who lives in Germany.

Alone, without water, food or any knowledge of a language besides his own, he reached the province of Monza, in Lombardy, where, exhausted, he asked Carabinieri police for help, showing them a red bracelet with the word "Help" written on it.

'HELP'

Fourteen-year-old Sayed (the name has been changed to protect his identity) was walking alone through the streets of Seveso, in the province of Monza, when he was rescued by Carabinieri police last Friday (August 25).

The officers noticed the young boy, who appeared exhausted and extremely thin, walking alone with his head bowed.

When the Carabinieri policemen approached him and tried to speak to him, he didn't answer. He was able to express the fact that he didn't understand either Italian and English and showed them his embroidered bracelet calling for help. And the officers did help.

Without documents, visibly malnourished and with no strength left, the boy was taken to the local precinct, where he was given water and food and where the officers waited with him until the arrival of an interpreter who was able to translate Farsi.

When the interpreter arrived, the boy told her that he had travelled on his own from his home country to Italy through the Balkan route, with the objective of reaching Germany to find his father who had left before him.

Weeks without food and with little water

He explained that he had travelled for weeks with little water and practically no food, hiding in the back of lorries, without explaining whether someone had instructed him to travel in such a way.

The only piece of paper he was carrying in a pocket of his jeans, which he was wearing with a blue T-shirt and no baggage, was a train ticket Trieste-Monza, which he had used after getting out of the last truck on which he had travelled to reach the north-eastern city of Trieste, which is close to the border with Slovenia.

He told the interpreter that he felt his strength waning and understood he needed help. Since he didn't know where to go, afraid he was in some way in danger, he decided to ask for the Carabinieri's help when he saw them, knowing he was wearing a bracelet with a universal cry for help, which someone had given him.

Once his case was reported to a juvenile court, he was taken to a facility in Como, in Lombardy. He will remain there until authorities are able to track down his father in the hope that they will soon be reunited.