Sicily: “They beat me in prison, and I was left there for three months.”

November 1, 2016

“They beat me in prison, and I was left there for three months.” He has an old bone fracture due to an assault suffered in Libya. “I kept the oil-drenched clothes on for two days.” He has fuel and seawater burns from the Mediterranean crossing.

To us nurses, the scars tell the story of their voyage. During the visit, an anatomic ‘map’ is drawn, composed of lesions, trauma, malnutrition and scars. But do those who have to decide about the man’s future – do they know of these scars?

Those scars stayed in my memory, as did the necessity to affirm the right to healthcare and to be cured, something that my colleagues and I strive to do here in Sicily every day.

I am sure that if you came here to look around, it would reawaken in you the sense of belonging to a single ‘humanity'”.

Crescenzo, EMERGENCY nurse in Sicily