Ecuador said Tuesday it is
concerned about Italian social services placing children of
Ecuadorian immigrant workers in compulsory care due to a "too
rigid interpretation of norms for the protection of minors".
Ecuadorian deputy Justice Minister Nadia Ruiz appealed to
the Italian Government to take the "greatest care" in keeping
Ecuadorian children and adolescents with their parents even when
they are on the poverty line.
"Our Constitution protects all Ecuadorian citizens,
including those living abroad," she said in a speech at the
Italo-Latin American Institute (Iila) in Rome, adding that
Ecuadorian President Correa is very attentive to the well-being
of emigrants.
Ruiz arrived in Rome Monday together with Ecuadorian Deputy
minister for mobile foreign affairs, Maria Landazuri De Mora.
They have had a series of meetings with Italian senior officials
including Justice Minister Andrea Orlando from whom "we received
maximum availability" Ruiz said. Ruiz also had a meeting with
Ecuadorian mothers on the question, she added.
Official figures are not available but "the emergency
involves around 30,000 families ina community that numbers some
200,000 Ecuadorian citizens from Genoa to Milan to Rome -- often
entrusted to social services or family Homes. We are very
worried about these youngsters and for their families,"
underlined Ruiz.
"Children have the right to live with their parents
everywhere in the world".
Ecuadorian Ambassador to Italy Juan Holguin for his part
added that the Ecuadorian envoys' aim is "to avoid that the
remedy is worse than the illness."
As many as 100 young Ecuadorians have been taken from their
families by Italian authorities, he added.
Landazuri De Mora said the problem has only been
encountered in Italy. "We are grateful for the welcome that
Italy offers our immigrants, giving them opportunities, but we
ask for transparency and a greater exchange of information with
Italian authorities".
In Spain, by contrast, "minors separated from their parents
are entrusted to their relatives in Ecuador. Our hope is that
this can also happen in Italy. If their mothers and fathers are
not able to support them our first choice is for them being
entrusted to their families in Ecuador rather than to Italian
families that are strangers to them. The cultural factor is
decisive," she said.
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