Court ruling to remove children of UK-Australian couple living in woods divides Italy | Italy

An Italian court’s decision to remove three bush-growing children from their British-Australian parents has sparked a fierce debate in the country about alternative lifestyles.

Nathan Trevallion, a former chef from Bristol, and his wife Catherine Birmingham, a former riding instructor from Melbourne, bought a dilapidated property in a wooded area in Palmoli in central Italy’s Abruzzo region in 2021.

The goal was to raise their three children (8-year-old Utopia Rose and six-year-old twins Galorian and Bluebell) as close to nature as possible.

They grew their own food, generated electricity from solar energy, and extracted water from wells. Meanwhile, surrounded by horses, donkeys and chickens, the children were educated at home. Weekly trips to the town of San Salvo, population 20,000 on the Adriatic coast, introduced them to the outside world.

But the idyllic life came under scrutiny from local social services in September last year when the entire family was hospitalized after eating poisonous mushrooms collected from the forest.

Authorities investigated further and found that the family’s residence was “in dilapidated condition, in appalling hygienic conditions and lacking essential services,” a court document said.

Last week, a juvenile court judge in L’Aquila upheld prosecutor’s allegations that the children’s rights had been “serious and harmful violated” by living off the grid and ordered their deportation. They were picked up by police Thursday afternoon and taken to a church-run facility. Although both parents have limited access to their children, their mother is also with them, according to their lawyer Giovanni Angelucci.

In its decision, the juvenile court noted that “the family unit had housing difficulties” and “lacked social interaction, a stable income”, “there were no toilet facilities” at home, and “the children did not go to school”.

While awaiting the court’s decision, Trevallion and Birmingham gave several interviews to the press, gaining support from thousands of people who signed an online petition calling for the family to be kept together.

Trevallion described the children’s removal as a “huge heartbreak” that left them in “shock”. “It was the worst night of my life,” he told the local news site. Il CentroHe added that the day after they were taken, the children were made to sleep in a separate room next to their mother at the nursing home. “This is the hardest thing,” he added. “It’s a terrible situation.”

he said La Repubblica: “We live outside the system… They accuse us of this. They are ruining the life of a happy family.”

Trevallion declined to speak further Monday and Birmingham could not be reached for comment.

Angelucci said he would appeal the removal of the couple’s children, claiming the judge’s report contained “lies,” especially about their school.

The couple met while traveling in Bali and considered raising their family in Spain before settling in Italy. Trevallion told La Repubblica they want to stay in the country but are also ready to move to Australia.

The case sparked political controversy and backlash against the juvenile court’s chief judge, Cecilia Angrisano.

Italy’s far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, expressed “alarm” over the children being taken into care and instructed justice minister Carlo Nordio to consider whether there was a need to send inspectors. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini compared the incident to a kidnapping.

Italian judges are frequently attacked by Meloni’s government, and the ANM union warned against “abuse” of the case on Monday, saying the court’s decision was based on factors such as the children’s safety, health conditions and education.

Prominent Italian sociologist Chiara Saraceno said: “It is very difficult to understand what is happening there. But there is nothing wrong with wanting to provide an alternative education. The problem is how isolated these children are and how unhygienic their lives are.” [living] There were conditions.”

But Saraceno questioned social services’ focus on this particular situation “where so many poor children live in homes.” “In these situations, you have to wonder: Where are the social workers?”