As the "boatloads of sorrow" continue to arrive more frequently than ever on Sicily's shores, a tale of a family who remembered others even as their own hearts were breaking emerges from Siracusa:
A 49-year-old Syrian woman who arrived at Siracusa on a migrant boat with her husband and two children on 28th August was transferred to hospital in the city immediately after landing as she had suffered a cardiac arrest. Her condition could have been caused by the rigours of her journey or by emotion upon landing in a place where she felt she would be safe. Sadly, the woman died shortly afterwards.
Her husband, as a gesture of gratitude to the community that had welcomed the family, did not hesitate to give permission for the woman's liver and kidneys to be used for transplant. The transplants have been carried out on three patients in Palermo and Catania and all are said to be doing well.
So that is how one refugee unknowingly brought to Sicily the gift of life.
8 comments:
An amazing story...generosity beyond belief almost.
How poignant!
Yes, very generous, Lee.
I thought so, too, WW.
So sad - I hope the story was well reported. What are the views of the majority in Sicily about the immigrants?
Hi, Liz. Not that widely reported. I think people feel sorry for them but worry about the sheer numbers coming at the moment.
Very touching story. I hadn't heard anything about this.
Hi, Hawkins Family. I thought so too.
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