Italy debates if ‘forest family’ must spend Xmas apart

The fate of a British-Australian “forest family” living off the grid in a remote house in the forest has touched many people in Italy as Christmas approaches.

Last month, a children’s court in Italy ordered that the children of Australian woman Catherine Birmingham and her British husband Nathan Trevallion be placed in foster care.

The family, living in a forested area in Italy’s Abruzzo region, attracted the attention of authorities last year when they were hospitalized after eating poisonous mushrooms.

Due to the living conditions in the forest, the authorities temporarily took custody of the three children back from their parents and placed the 8-year-old girl and her 6-year-old twin children in a kindergarten.

The family’s lawyers said it was up to the juvenile court to decide whether the family could celebrate Christmas together at their home in the Abruzzo forest, east of Rome.

According to media reports, the children saw light switches and a shower at the care facility for the first time.

His parents consciously chose to live in very simple conditions in a stone house in the forest, without running water or electricity.

The parents have now unsuccessfully appealed against this decision of the juvenile court in L’Aquila.

Social services found the situation in the forest unsuitable for children due to unhygienic conditions.

They also stated that they were exposed to social isolation because their children did not go to school.

According to media reports, the mother sees the children every day and the father is allowed to visit them regularly.

The family’s lawyers hope the family will be reunited soon as the parents signal that they are willing to cooperate with authorities and social services.