Francesco Bia
An immense hug and a lot of fraternal love to relieve the suffering of Ukrainian children tried by the war. Thirty of them will be welcomed tomorrow morning by the Apulian families who enthusiastically joined the appeal of the Association “High Children’s Hospitality Group” in Modugno, At the gates of Bari, which has been operating since 1997, having hosted over 12 thousand Belarusian children in 25 years of social commitment.
The small Ukrainians, between 8 and 10 years old, continue to face the tormented everyday life made of bombings and destruction in their cities of Nikopol, Zaporizhzia and Sumy. Some have already come to Puglia. The others will leave their parents and their own battered land for the first time, animated by the hope of being able to find the lost serenity and a swallow of happiness that the war conflict has almost completely canceled. The reception project (the initiative started in the summer of 2023, with a couple of steps even during the Christmas period) provides A two -month stay that offers the opportunity to live a joyful and friendly experience, Thanks above all to the big heart and availability of the families of Bari and its province, of Barletta and Salento.
Trenacious and sometimes surprising children for their courage, who have faced a long trip by bus that lasted 36 hours. After greeting their loved ones, they climbed the self -sauce to be escorted by the military outside the red zone. To await them, the operators of the “Democratic Angels” Foundation in Kiev who collaborates with the project with the Modugno group. In a very difficult and complicated situation, they managed to get to Warsaw from where tomorrow morning at 6 they will take the aircraft that will take them to Bari-Palese airport. “In these two years we have really built a bridge for peace, trying to give all possible love and concrete help to these children forced to live a lacerating drama,” he underlines Francesco Bia, 60 years old, president of the Association of Modugno. «Last Christmas we hosted 19, this time they are about thirty. I want to thank all the families who with their emotional momentum and a lot of generosity, also making sacrifices embrace the little ones who manage to recover some tranquility and human warmth. They are boys with an extraordinary mood, unfortunately accustomed to no longer go to school and measure themselves every day with the bombings, the sound of the sirens, the labored ride to find shelter in shelters and bunkers. It is always an incredible emotion when they come to us. It will be like this this time too ».
War often overwhelms and distorts even the purest feelings. Ukrainian children, despite a troubled and difficult existence, have not lost that inner force of recovering what beautiful life can reserve when I am in Puglia. “Their splendid eyes emanate an intense light, as if to exorcise fear and terror,” says Francesco Bia who in the past together with his wife Maria Grazia has adopted 2 Belarusian children. «They forget everything that have seen and integrate immediately with those who welcome them, knowing they can live their particular holidays in the name of joy, fun and desire to be together, Which in Ukraine has long been practically impossible. I was surprised by their temperament, because despite the small age, they recognize the Russian enemy. It is the perception of how in the heart and mind there is also placed for a thin form of grudge. After all, however, they are wonderful, spontaneous and genuine guys ».
In these two months of stay in Puglia, the war will seem for a distant moment. Ukrainian children looking at the sky dotted with only stars will dream of the silence of weapons and a future of peace.
