Page 29 - bon-dia-aruba-20210824

A29
world news Diamars 24 augustus 2021

US WWII veteran reunites with Italians he

saved as children

(AP) — For more than
seven decades, Martin
Adler treasured a back-
and-white photo of him-
self as a young American
soldier with a broad smile
with three impeccably
dressed Italian children Poland plans fence on Belarus
he is credited with sav-
ing as the Nazis retreated border, offers aid to migrants
northward in 1944.
(AP) — Poland plans to Almost 800 of them got
On Monday, the 97-year-old build a fence along its in and have been placed in
World War II veteran met the border with Belarus and state-run centers.
three siblings — now octo- deploy more soldiers In response to the mi-
genarians themselves — in there to stop migrants grants’ arrival, Poland said
person for the first time since seeking to enter the Eu- it had deployed over 900
the war. ropean Union nation. soldiers to the border with
Belarus and was reinforc-
Adler held out his hand to “That was a real hero, the Eventually the photo was The government on Mon- ing the border with 150
grasp those of Bruno, Ma- mother, not me. The moth- spotted by an Italian journal- day also offered to send kilometers (93 miles) of
falda and Giuliana Naldi for er was a real hero. Can you ist who had written a book humanitarian aid to a mi- barbed wire. On Monday,
the joyful reunion at Bolo- imagine you standing your- on World War II. He was able grant group stuck at the Defense Minister Mariusz
gna’s airport after a 20-hour self in front of a gun and to track down Adler’s regi- border for more than two Blaszczak said more sol-
journey from Boca Raton, screaming ‘Children! No!’” ment and where it had been weeks. diers would be sent and a
Florida. Then, just as he did he said. stationed from a small de- fence 2.5 meters (8 feet)
as a 20-year-old soldier in tail in another photograph. Poland and the three Baltic tall would be erected on
their village of Monterenzio, Adler still trembles when he The smiling photo was then states — Latvia, Lithuania the border.
he handed out bars of Ameri- remembers that he was only published in a local newspa- and Estonia — accuse Be-
can chocolate. seconds away from opening per, leading to the discovery larusian President Alexan- Blaszczak said the new
fire on the basket. And after of the identities of the three der Lukashenko of sending border fence would be
“Look at my smile,” Adler all these decades, he still suf- children, who by then were migrants across their bor- modeled on the one Hun-
said of the long-awaited in- fers nightmares from the war, grandparents themselves. ders, which also form part gary erected against mi-
person reunion, made pos- said his daughter, Rachelle of the EU’s eastern border, grants years ago on its
sible by the reach of social Donley. They shared a video reunion in what they call a “hybrid border with Serbia, which
media. in December, and waited war.” The migrants are is reinforced with coils of
The children, aged 3 to 6 until the easing of pandemic mostly from Afghanistan razor wire.
It was a happy ending to a when they met, were a hap- travel rules made the trans- and Iraq. “We are dealing with an
story that could easily have py memory. His company Atlantic trip possible. attack on Poland. It is an
been a tragedy. stayed on in the village for a All four EU nations be- attempt to trigger a mi-
while and he would come by “I am so happy and so proud lieve the surge in migrants gration crisis,” he said at
The very first time the soldier and play with them. of him. Because things could is Minsk’s revenge for the a news conference at the
and the children saw each have been so different in just EU’s sanctions against the border.
other, in 1944, the three faces Giuliana Naldi, the young- a second. Because he hesitat- autocratic regime in Be-
peeked out of a huge wicker est, is the only one of the ed, there have been genera- larus. Noting that Lukashen-
basket where their mother three with any recollection of tions of people,” Donley said. ko’s regime has ties to the
had hidden them as soldiers the event. She recalls climb- “Using immigrants to Kremlin, Blaszczak said:
approached. Adler thought ing out of the basket and see- The serendipity isn’t lost on destabilize neighboring “We will not allow the
the house was empty, so he ing Adler and another U.S. Giuliana Naldi’s 30-year- countries constitutes a creation of a route for the
trained his machine gun on soldier, who has since died. old granddaughter, Roberta clear breach of the inter- transfer of migrants via
the basket when he heard a Fontana, one of six children, national law and qualifies Poland to the European
sound, thinking a German “They were laughing,” Na- eight grandchildren and two as a hybrid attack against ... Union.”
soldier was hiding inside. ldi, now 80, remembers. great-grandchildren who de- Latvia, Lithuania, Poland Meanwhile, political ten-
“They were happy they scended from the three chil- and thus against the entire sions are growing in Po-
“The mother, Mamma, didn’t shoot.” dren hidden in the wicker European Union,” they land over 30 migrants who
came out and stood right in She, on the other hand, basket. said in a joint statement became stuck on the bor-
front of my gun to stop me didn’t quite comprehend the Monday. der with Belarus. A refugee
(from) shooting,” Adler re- close call. “Knowing that Martin could From Geneva, the U.N.’s rights group says the group
called. “She put her stomach have shot and that none of Refugee Agency’s spokes- includes people from Af-
right against my gun, yelling, “We weren’t afraid for any- my family would exist is person Shabia Mantoo said ghanistan and some who
‘Bambinis! Bambinis! Bam- thing,” she said. something very big,” Fontana the organization has been need medical attention.
binis!’ pounding my chest,″ said. “It is very emotional.” closely following the situ- Poland insists they are on
Adler recalled. She also remembers the sol- ation. Belarusian territory, but
dier’s chocolate, which came During his stay in Italy, Adler has still faced criticism for
in a blue-and-white wrapper. will spend some time in the “We have been very con- not allowing the migrants
village where he was sta- cerned by developments to apply for asylum.
“We ate so much of that tioned, before traveling on to at the borders resulting in
chocolate,” she laughed. Florence, Naples and Rome, people being stranded for On Monday the Polish
where he hopes to meet Pope days,” Mantoo said. Foreign Ministry said it
Donley decided during the Francis. submitted a diplomatic
COVID-19 lockdown to use The Polish government note to Belarus offering to
social media to try to track “My dad really wants to meet said last week that 2,100 provide food and medicine
down the children in the old the pope,” Donley said. “He migrants had tried to en- for the group, as well as
black-and-white photo, start- wants to share his message of ter Poland illegally from tents, beds, sleeping bags,
ing with veterans’ groups in peace and love. My dad is all Belarus so far in August. blankets and pajamas.
North America. about peace.”