According to major media reports, a British-Australian parent couple with three children lived until November in a remote house in the forest in the mountainous Abruzzo region of central Italy. A juvenile court in L'Aquila removed custody from the parents on November 13. Since November, the three children—an eight-year-old girl and seven-year-old twins—have been living in a facility in Vasto, where they are to remain initially for an observation period.
The mother, an Australian, previously lived in the same facility but could only see her children at certain times. The juvenile court of L'Aquila decided yesterday that the mother must move out of the supervised residential facility in Vasto where she was previously housed. The court justified the decision with problems in complying with internal rules and organizational requirements of the facility, though the specific rules violated have not been disclosed.
The mother had to leave the residential facility yesterday evening, and she has already left the facility where she was since November 20 with her three children. ' In the 13-page order with which the juvenile court of L'Aquila decided to separate the mother from her children, educators from the residential facility use strong tones towards the woman. The mother is described as 'hostile and discrediting', with an attitude that ended up influencing that of her three children.
The mother 'does not trust anyone' and does not respect the rules, trying to impose her own even on education. ' Her pronounced environmental convictions were viewed critically, though the exact nature of these convictions has not been specified. The order also speaks of the conflictual climate between the woman and the social services.
' Over time, according to what the judges highlighted, the children have also been affected by the climate of tension, ending up becoming aggressive towards the educators and some minors present in the protected facility. The three children are also to be separated from each other, according to the court. The children of the forest will have to leave the residential facility that has been hosting them for 100 days and move elsewhere, away from the media and the presence of the mother.
Work is underway to find a new protected facility that can host the children. Some residential facilities would like to avoid ending up in the spotlight, while others would be incompatible with the parents' need to meet their children, because they are too far from the home where the parents are now living. ' Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni intervened in the case, stating, 'Children do not belong to the state: children belong to their mothers and fathers.
' The Ministry of Justice has sent inspectors to L'Aquila to investigate the matter.