Father of eight-year-old African boy who travelled 3,500 miles alone to Italy ... trends now
The father of an eight-year-old boy who travelled an astonishing 3,500 miles from Africa to Europe alone so he could ‘go to school’ has told his son to ‘stay there and get an education’.
Oumar decided he had to leave his tiny village near Tambaga in the west of Mali after an attack on his hometown four months ago.
He walked through the Sahara desert and spent time in prison before finally boarding a dinghy to try and cross the Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe.
He was picked up by humanitarian vessel called Ocean Viking earlier this month in the Mediterranean as he crossed from Libya to Italy with almost 100 others in a dinghy.
The ship then sailed to the Italian port of Ancona on the Adriatic Sea, where he was picked up by volunteers and put into temporary accommodation with other children.
Now MailOnline has tracked down his father, who gave his name only as Moussa, after he and his family fled their village following the jihadi terror attack in November.
Oumar (pictured) decided he had to leave his tiny village near Tambaga in the west of Mali after an attack on his hometown four months ago
He walked through the Sahara desert and spent time in prison before finally boarding a dinghy to try and cross the Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe
He added that being in Libya ‘was hard’ because he was ‘black’
After being told his son was safe and well and being cared for by a children’s charity in the Italian port of Ancona, he wept tears of joy.
He said: ’I’m so happy he is alive, he is my oldest child, I have another son but we didn’t know what had happened to Oumar after the terrorists attacked.
‘He is a good boy, and he never gave us any trouble, we miss him but my message to him is stay where you are, there in Italy you are safe, here there is war and danger.
‘Oumar enjoyed going to school and was good in class, he could read and write, and was clever for his age, his teacher was very happy with him.
‘I would give anything to see my son again but for now he should stay where he is, get an education and make a life for himself, he can see us when he is older.
‘He will have the chance to make a good life for himself in Italy, if he stayed here who knows what would have happened, it is so dangerous with the war.
‘I want to thank the people who saved him and who are looking after him, they have my gratitude for ever.’
Moussa, who with wife Aba was living in Tambaga, said: ’We had to run away from the village because it was attacked and we got separated and we had no news from Oumar.
‘I had given him my mobile telephone number and he remembered it – when he was rescued he gave it to the people on the ship and when he got off we had a brief talk.
‘But I hadn’t heard from him in days until you called me now to say he was doing well, so I thank you as well for your help.’
Oumar is now in a shelter in Ancona run by Alessandro Fucili which takes in children in difficult circumstances and within a week has made friends and learnt basic Italian.
MailOnline was invited into the project and watched as Oumar smiled and played with other children, laughing, and joking as they played tag in a nearby park.
He was picked up by humanitarian vessel called Ocean Viking earlier this month in the Mediterranean as he crossed from Libya to Italy
‘Oumar enjoyed going to school and was good in class, he could read and write, and was clever for his age,' his father said
Oumar is now in a shelter in Ancona run by Alessandro Fucili which takes in children in difficult circumstances
From a nearby cliff top, Oumar gazed out to sea with a pair of binoculars rescuers had given him as a present, sharing them with the other children and shouting in French, ‘la mer, la mer’ (the sea, the sea).
Alessandro said: ’The best way for him to get used to his new environment is have other children around him, the time for talking to adults will come later.
‘For now, it is just better for him that he takes
