The story of Oumar, a Senegalese teen who travelled to the Canary Islands, has a happy ending. He is now living with Emilia D'Agostino, an Italian who has been residing in Spain for the past 35 years and who became his foster mother.
Oumar is a Senegalese teen who reached the Canary island of El Hierro on a wooden boat in November 2023, aged 16. After staying at a number of centers for migrant minors on the archipelago which hosts over 5,000 teens and children who have reached Spain without a family member, Oumar finally found an oasis of peace in the home of Emilia D'Agostino, his 64-year-old Italian foster mother who has been residing in Spain for the past 35 years.
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The commitment to learn and the beginning of a relationship
Emilia, who is retired, told Spanish news agency EFE that she met Oumar while she was working as a volunteer Spanish teacher at a hosting center run by the Red Cross. The woman told the news agency that she was struck by Oumar's commitment to learn, even though he didn't know how to read or write, as he had started working as a fisherman in Senegal when he was 13.
The pair formed a connection and, after inquiring how they could become foster parents, Emilia and her husband directly asked Oumar if he wanted to live with them.
"I was asked whether I wanted to live in Emilia's home and whether I knew her, and I said yes, that she had been my teacher… it was a surprise, I was very happy," recalled Oumar, who is now 18.
The teen lives in Madrid and has his own room, he has breakfast with Emilia before going to classes, he cooks and plays soccer in his free time. At night, he cooks Senegalese dishes for his foster family.
"The kitchen is our confessional," said Emilia, who described the cohabitation with Oumar as "very positive", although at the beginning he was "closed like an oyster" and gradually opened up to forge a more personal relationship.
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'Fostering isn't difficult, many families would do it if they were informed'
The Italian teacher, who described Oumar as a "very disciplined boy", said hosting these minors does not require great economic resources or a large home, but a lot of empathy and an open heart and mind that allows a foster family to empathize with the minors' needs.
Moreover, she said the bureaucratic process to become foster parents is not very difficult.
Oumar is in daily contact with his family of origin, in Senegal, who are very grateful that he is being taken care of by another family.
"I feel extremely supported", said the teen, adding however that he has experienced racism against unaccompanied migrant minors.
Emilia, for her part, expressed sadness over a controversy regarding the relocation of unaccompanied migrant minors across various Spanish regions, which became worse because she said it was exploited for political ends.
She said the debate gave the impression that many people needed to be redistributed while in fact the minors who needed to be relocated -- 4,000 -- were not many for Spain, a country of 49 million inhabitants. The foster mother also said she is convinced that many would offer to host the minors if they were properly informed.