The first week is divided. Nathan, alone, in the house in the Palmoli forest. Catherine is far away, with her three children, in a safe house in Vasto. Thirty kilometers away chilled the hearts of two Anglo-Australian parents who decided to live a neo-rural life, isolated but happy, in a place located in the province of Chieti.
Nathan TrevallionThe 51-year-old, a former chef, said he felt terrible because he could barely sleep at home in what a juvenile judge called a “ruin”. He explained that he missed the embrace of his three children and his 45-year-old wife Catherine Birmingham, a riding teacher. It was a difficult Sunday for Nathan, following a decision by the L’Aquila Juvenile Court that in recent days ordered the removal of the three children – a 9-year-old girl and two 7-year-old twins – from their parents and their lifestyle in nature. In Palmoli, among the hills lush with vegetation, there are television crews going back and forth. From behind the wooden bars that bordered the entrance, they captured images of Nathan moving hay, feeding his animals and cleaning. Sweaters, scarves, hats. A man is put on trial for what he calls “injustice” and sleepless nights. His gaze was often lost into space, a repetitive motion of taking away old straw and replacing it with new. The donkey ran away and, fortunately, was found after a while. And Nathan interpreted everything based on the children’s absence. Shortly before, the visit of lawyer Giovanni Angelucci, who on Saturday received two telephone calls from Minister Salvini, tried to provide Nathan with as much comfort as possible. To reunite the family as quickly as possible, he said he was prepared to address the critical problems of the jungle home, starting with the creation of an internal bathroom and bedrooms for the children. People come to the farmhouse from Pescara, Francavilla al Mare and neighboring towns. There are also neo-rural friends living in Tufillo and San Buono. «I feel so much pain in my heart and so much sadness – says Nathan – I have to rest. The only thing I had to do today was clean the coop, because I hadn’t put in any new hay or straw for three days. I have to prepare the horse and donkey and then go eat. The two donkeys are restless because the children are not here, my wife is not here. They suffer too.” He remembers happy Sundays with his children, his voice hoarse: «We usually eat pasta with our tomato sauce. And breakfast with plum cake, but today I made it myself. I pampered myself with rose hips and honey. We hope to regain our strength tomorrow. My wife is also sad, but she knows how to be strong. They assured me that everything will be resolved next week. I’m sure.”
The best man at the wedding
Those who often visit the house give one-sided stories.
In the afternoon, Ferdinando Miraldi, 94, the couple’s companion, arrived. “I met Nathan and Catherine three years ago, when I offered them cherries from my field – he said – Catherine was in the car with the children and tried to protect them from the sun with panels. I helped her. Then Nathan came and I told him that I wanted to give the cherries to the little children. That’s how we got to know each other. I also slept in that house. It can be modified and you can live with it. I became a relative, I was a witness to the wedding when they got married in the municipality of Palmoli.” Then he talked about mushroom poisoning, which made the world discover this different family. «They didn’t know that they shouldn’t be picked up and eaten, they got sick and went to the hospital, and that’s how it all started. Things just got bigger” says Ferdinando. The case exploded in 2024 after the rescue and hospitalization for mushroom poisoning. Hence the reports from the police, social workers and, after a year, the decision to separate the children from their parents.
Mother
Even Catherine’s mother, who lives with her children at the Vasto facility but cannot visit them regularly, is very tired and does not want to talk. He often cries. He wants “this nightmare to end.” He just wants to go back to his life, in a farmhouse with no water, electricity or gas. The right choice away from metropolitan cities and contamination. The woman can only be with her children for breakfast, lunch and dinner, for half an hour at a time. The children had been visited by a pediatrician, treated but “their eyes were full of sadness”, their lawyer said. The youngest kept repeating that he wanted to return to the house in the forest. Catherine tried to convey confidence with small gestures, even though the duration of the meeting was short. While lawyers prepared documents, mobilization also grew. A national demonstration was held on December 6 in Rome, in Piazza Santi Apostoli, in front of the Ministry of the Family. At the same time, an online petition was started. Nathan looked at the messages on his cell phone, then went back to cleaning the cage. He said to himself, in a low voice: “I hope everything can return to normal soon.”
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