Spanish
The Juvenile Court of Minors in the city of L'Aquila (center) has decided to separate three children from their parents who were living isolated in a forest without being schooled and in a house without basic sanitary services.
An 8-year-old girl and her 6-year-old siblings were taken last night to a 'group home' in the city, and only after lengthy mediation with social workers and the Police was it possible for their mother to accompany them, local media reported this Friday.
The story became media-covered weeks ago, when the state of the British and Australian family who lived totally isolated in a forest was known and whose children were homeschooled, which opened a debate in the country.
You can also read: More than 47,000 people are hospitalized in Cuba for dengue or chikungunya
A petition was even organized - which reached more than 30,000 supporters - to defend the family, as the parents have always stated that their choice did not arise from negligence, but from the desire to live in contact with nature, protecting the bond with their children and with animals. The juvenile court ruling indicates that "there is no risk of violating the minors' right to education, but there is a risk of violating their right to social life (Article 2 of the Constitution) and it may cause serious psychological and educational consequences for the minor". According to the Court, "the deprivation of interaction between peers in primary school age can have significant effects on the child's development, which manifest both in the school environment and outside of it." The court also imposed the removal of the minors from the family home "in consideration of the danger to their physical integrity arising from the living conditions, as well as the parents' refusal to allow the medical checks and treatments required by law." And it also referred to "the lack of habitability and, therefore, of static safety, also in terms of seismic risk and fire prevention, of the electrical, water and heating installations, and of the safety, hygiene and health of the home, gives rise to the legal presumption of the existence of a period of detriment to the integrity and physical safety of minors". The file on Catherine Birmingham and her husband Nathan Trevallion ended up in the hands of the judge after a report on mushroom poisoning that led the family to go to the hospital last April. Upon arrival for the mandatory check, social workers intervened after verifying that the couple's three children were not attending school, despite having taken the mandatory end-of-year tests in a public center, and that their house lacked a bathroom, running water, and electricity. The father, a former British chef, stated desperately, according to the Italian media: "How can you separate children from their parents? They will be traumatized." The Juvenile Court had already requested temporary custody of their three children, alleging serious harm to their development. However, the couple never accepted the decision, defending their choice to "free themselves from the toxicity of modern life." The Travallion family now has ten days to appeal the sentence.
