Last Saturday evening began in joy and good humor for Nancy, her husband and six children, in Molenbeek. In the program : “Light the fire” of Johnny at karaoke. “It’s a song that Diego loves”confides the mother.
And then a banal argument arises between Diego and another member of the siblings which puts an end to the karaoke evening. The nine-year-old boy finds himself upstairs, while his older brother, Arno, is in the kitchen, which overlooks the garden. A shout. Nancy says, “Mommy, mommy, he fell!”
Diego, who went through the window, yet got up directly following this fall, miraculously cushioned by trash cans under the window. He even walked to the kitchen door where he then collapsed on the tiled floor. “Mom, mum, I see everything white, it hurts, stop”, he moans to his mother who gives him mouth-to-mouth, by maternal instinct. The violence of the shock punctured his lung. Nancy is crying, “What saved him were the garbage cans. He’s a superhero, but without the garbage cans he would be dead”.
The little one remained conscious, willy-nilly, until the arrival of the ambulance and the police, whom the mother wishes to thank, “They took good care of me, they reassured me”.
Dangerous precariousness
Nancy and her six children are in a precarious situation, she recognizes it. A precariousness exacerbated by another family drama. A few years ago, the family home was ravaged by flames and since then, nothing has been the same. This precariousness makes education more difficult for both parents, who are followed by social services, including the youth assistance service (SAJ).
Three days following the accident, Nancy had still not swallowed anything, eaten away by stress and sadness. “I have no appetite, I’m crying and her crying makes me cry. I’m afraid that my children will be taken away from me. It would make me give up. However, I am a struggling mother.”
Nancy is followed by the victim support service and the psychologist at UZ Gent where Diego is hospitalized. These services reassure her that for now, the priority is the physical well-being of Diego and the mental well-being of the family. “I am not saying that my children should not be followed. They need help “, concedes the mother. But his distrust of youth welfare services persists. “I’m afraid they’ll use this drama and our misfortune once morest us. It would be disgusting”she lets go, tears in her eyes, her last toddler in her arms.
For its part, the youth aid service cannot communicate on its files. But he specifies that the SAJ acts on a voluntary basis, and that nothing is done without the agreement of the family. However, if the service considers that “the child is in serious danger, the adviser transmits the situation to the public prosecutor“, which will summon the family to a juvenile court hearing, which might end in duress.
Thursday followingnoon, the drain in Diego’s lung was removed. His family, impatient, is waiting for him at home without having a return date. “The house has been deserted ever since. My children are the noisy type. Since Saturday, it’s been quiet.”