Today, 25 May, the International Day of Missing Children is remembered. When a minor disappears, the life of a family is irreparably turned upside down. Normality suddenly disappears. The clock on the wall stops, continuing to mark the same time in the life of those who are expecting a missing family member. Every minute of that day is retraced, told to look for a plausible explanation for a revolutionary event.

IMMEDIATE SEARCHES - “Today our thoughts are on the many, too many I would say, minors who on an ordinary day , often by the will of others, have lost their tracks . We must really make every effort so that there is prevention, information, above all the ability to respond in real time. When a minor disappears, the search machines must be activated quickly. Without wasting time "- commented the lawyer. Nicodemo Gentile , national president of the Penelope Italia Association , adding- “When it comes to missing minors we must also reflect on the great challenge that is that of unaccompanied minors. A phenomenon that must be tackled in a serious and adequate way because often these unfortunate young people are then attracted into the network of organized crime , prostitution , black work and also, unfortunately, in many cases, organ trafficking . We need to give more and more adequate and international responses ”.

COLLECTIVE PAIN - Time crystallizes forever in families where a minor disappears, transforming the now empty rooms into precious places of waiting and hope. Mothers and fathers who, from one day to the next, have never seen their children because they have been snatched away by unknown hands. Children removed from the daily life of loved ones and loved ones. Whole families have been waiting for answers for years. Often, however, the answers do not come. Intimate and private dramas that inevitably turn into collective pain.

IN SARDINIA - “ The minors who disappear in Sardinia are mainly adolescents who enter into rout with the family or who run away from the communities, but they are all found except for a few cases of misfortune or accidents. The problem is highly contrasted. We need to intervene in families and schools. Since children spend most of their time at school, rather than with their families, aggregations are created, groups that can make some peers uncomfortable ”- commented Avv. Gianfranco Piscitelli, President of the Penelope Sardegna Association , adding- “ Bullying phenomena can therefore arise. It is the parents who must be careful and realize certain inconveniences that are often underestimated. It is necessary to prevent any disappearances which, for the most part, are voluntary but come from a discomfort that leads them, in order not to feel excluded from the group, to join and emulate the leader. The moment they imitate and don't have the strength, when they find themselves alone, to hold up, at that point it can happen that they do something bad. All the times we have had cases of missing minors in Sardinia , or they had escaped from the community, or because they measure themselves against the herd and then cannot bear the weight because they are not strong temperamentally. Another problem is the internet : parents and the school do not supervise this. Nobody controls them and they can easily become prey to adults hiding behind fake profiles. The reactions of minors that can lead to removal and disappearance are often due to situations of 'witnessed violence' in the family ”.

Angelo Barraco

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