In a recent turn of events, a family court has revoked the temporary foster care arrangement for Christmail, a six-month-old infant from Ivory Coast who lost his mother in a shipwreck while crossing the Mediterranean.

The emergency medical technician (EMT), Alessandra Teresi, who had welcomed Christmail into her home on the Italian island of Lampedusa, is left in despair.

Teresi said that she loved the little boy as if he were her own son from the moment she saw him, when the tiny baby was wrapped up and held by one of the refugees travelling with him on a boat filled with migrants that had weighed anchor off the Tunisian coast and had been heading for Lampedusa.

Christmail's mother had fallen into the sea and drowned during the crossing, while the father remained in Tunisia.

After foster care in the family, sent to protected facilities

"On April 28 I was called up to visit a migrant that was not doing well just after they arrived on Lampedusa," Teresi said.

"Christmail was on the same boat. They took him to the hotspot so that I could verify whether he was ok. I found out at that point that his mother was dead and his father had not managed to get onto the boat and remained in Tunisia.

"Alongside a paediatrician I took care of him. He had difficulty eating because he was used to drinking milk from his mother's breast, but we managed to get him nourished. A wonderful baby," she added.

However, the infant could not stay in the hotspot where hundreds were arriving daily. And thus Teresi, who had to return to Palermo, said she was willing to take care of him until his father arrived.

The family court, with the consent of the child's father, granted her request.

Teresi was well aware that it was a temporary situation and that Christmail could not stay with her indefinitely. However, after Christmail had been with her for a week, Teresi received a sudden call from the police, instructing her to bring the child to court with all relevant documents.

"They initially kept us in a room with three policemen and the head of a child-care home," Teresi said, "then they informed me that the family court judge had revoked the foster care authorization. I was told to return the baby, and he would be sent to protected facilities."

'While awaiting his father, a home better than an orphanage'

No explanation was given, nor any indication as to why the foster care was revoked. "My son had said goodbye to him prior to going to school and when he came back he didn't find him again," Teresi said.

"It was a huge trauma for all of us. I think about him all the time, especially because he had grown close to all my family. He needed affection, hugs, love. What sense did it have to send him to a child-care home when he could have had a family until his father arrived?," she said.

The police admitted to procedural errors in the foster care process, but no further details were disclosed. The family court declined to comment on measures involving minors.

Teresi emphasized their intent was always to reunite Christmail with his father and provide support. "We only want what is best for him. A real home, at least until he reunites with his father, is better than an orphanage," she emphasized.

"They do not want to tell us where he is or let us see him. We only want what is best for him. But of course a real home, at least until he sees his father again, is better than an orphanage," she stressed.

Author: Lara Sirignano