The father of an eight-year-old boy who traveled 3,500 kilometers alone from Africa to Europe so he could ‘go to school’ told his son to ‘stay there and get an education’ .
Oumar decided he had to leave his small village near Tambaga, in western Mali, after an attack on his hometown four months ago.
He crossed the Sahara Desert and spent time in prison before finally boarding a dinghy to attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
He was picked up by a humanitarian ship called Ocean Viking earlier this month in the Mediterranean as he crossed from Libya to Italy with nearly 100 other people in a dinghy.
The ship then sailed to the Italian port of Ancona on the Adriatic Sea, where he was picked up by volunteers and placed in temporary accommodation with other children.
MailOnline has now traced his father, who only gave his name as Moussa, after he and his family fled their village following the jihadist terrorist attack in November.
Oumar (pictured) decided he had to leave his small village near Tambaga, in western Mali, after an attack on his hometown four months ago.
He crossed the Sahara Desert and spent time in prison before finally boarding a dinghy to attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
He added that being in Libya “was hard” because he was “black”.
After learning that his son was OK and had been cared for by a children’s charity in the Italian port of Ancona, he cried with joy.
He said: “I am so happy that he is alive, he is my eldest, I have another son but we did not know what happened to Oumar after the terrorist attack.
“He is a good boy and he never gave us any problems, we miss him but my message to him is to stay where you are, over there in Italy you are safe, here there is war and hazard.
“Oumar loved going to school and was good in class, he knew how to read and write and was intelligent for his age, his teacher was very happy with him.
“I would give anything to see my son again but for now he should stay where he is, study and earn a living, so he can see us when he is older.
“He will have the chance to succeed in his life in Italy, if he had stayed here, who knows what would have happened, it’s so dangerous with the war.
“I want to thank the people who saved him and are looking after him, they have my gratitude forever.”
Moussa, who lived in Tambaga with his wife Aba, said: “We had to flee the village because it was attacked and we were separated and we had no news from Oumar.
“I gave him my cell phone number and he remembered it. When he was rescued he gave it to the people on the ship and when he came down we had a brief conversation.
“But I hadn’t heard from him in days until you called me now to tell me he was okay, so I thank you for your help as well.”
Oumar is now in a shelter in Ancona run by Alessandro Fucili which takes in children in difficult circumstances, and within a week he has made friends and learned the basics of Italian.
MailOnline was invited to take part in the project and saw Oumar smiling and playing with other children, laughing and joking as they played tag in a nearby park.
He was picked up by a humanitarian ship called Ocean Viking earlier this month in the Mediterranean as it passed through Libya to Italy.
“Oumar loved going to school and was good in class, he knew how to read and write and was intelligent for his age,” his father said.
Oumar is now in Ancona in a shelter run by Alessandro Fucili which welcomes children in difficult situations
From the top of a nearby cliff, Oumar looked out at the sea with a pair of binoculars that rescuers had given him, sharing them with the other children and shouting in French “la mer, la mer”.
Alessandro said: “The best way for him to get used to his new environment is to have other children around him, the time to talk to adults will come later.
“For now, it’s best for him to calm down and get used to his new environment – he’s an intelligent and educationally very advanced child.
“When we gave him a pen and paper, he wrote his name and within a few days he was counting to twenty in Italian and learning basic words.
“He wants to go to school, and we speak in basic French, and I told him that after Easter I will send him there, maybe just a few hours a day to start.”
Alessandro is reluctant for Oumar to talk about his incredible journey and told MailOnline: ‘The other day, for the first time since he arrived, he had nightmares.
“He woke up screaming and the girl who shared the dorm with him woke him up and gave him a hug to calm him down.”
Oumar’s poignant story emerged earlier this month after the Ocean Viking arrived in Ancona following a three-day voyage off the coast of Libya.
He told astonished rescuers that he had left Mali in November and crossed Africa to Libya with a friend. He made a first attempt, but was caught by the Libyan coast guard.
The two men were thrown into a Libyan prison in Ain Zara before managing to escape, hiding in a garbage truck before boarding a dinghy bound for Europe.
Oumar told his rescuers that he had earned money working as a painter and welder to earn enough money to live on.
He added that being in Libya “was hard” because he was “black”.
Oumar and his family fled his village after a jihadist group attacked the area and they were separated.
He continued walking and eventually found himself in Libya where he worked for several weeks before attempting a first sea crossing, which failed.
The Libyan coast guard picked him up and threw him in prison before he managed to escape on the garbage truck.
His father Moussa says he wants his son to live his life
In a week, he made friends and learned the basics of Italian.
Oumar told his rescuers that he had earned money working as a painter and welder to earn enough money to live on.
In prison, he was beaten and suffered a broken foot diagnosed by Italian doctors.
Alessandro explained: “The injury was caused while he was in prison, he has to wear a bandage for two weeks, but that didn’t stop him from running and playing football.
“When we sat him down in front of a computer and showed him a map of the world, he was able to find Mali and we showed him some photos of his village.
“He saw the town hall and kept shouting ‘école,école,’ which means school in French, and he said that’s where he was going to take lessons.
“He was able to remember some names of the nearby villages, but I don’t want to push him too much, especially after he had nightmares the other night.”
All that is known about his trip is that he earned money in Libya by welding and painting, but it is not known how much he paid to get in the canoe or who he paid .
Alessandro said: “It’s not the time for memories because they will definitely be bad for him, it’s just the time for him to play and have fun with other children.”
In prison, he was beaten and suffered a broken foot diagnosed by Italian doctors.
Since his arrival at the center from the charity CEIS, the center has been inundated with calls from people asking how to adopt Oumar.
Local authorities are now working to have Oumar adopted
“What’s important for us and for him is to welcome him and keep that lovely smile on his face,” his rescuers said.
Since his arrival at the center from the charity CEIS, the center has been inundated with calls from people asking how to adopt Oumar.
Alessandro said: “After the story was publicized, he became a real talking point and media from all over the world called me and asked about him.
“We also received calls from people saying they wanted to adopt him, but it’s not that simple and for two days we just didn’t answer the phone.
“It is now up to the local family court to appoint a guardian for him, and then possibly a foster family.”
“We are using a volunteer who speaks Bambara (the language of Mali), but he is making progress in Italian and within a few months, children being children, I expect him to be fluent.”
Alessandro added: “He will stay with us until the end of the summer, I suppose, so that a family can be found, and then he will leave and live with them.”
“He will get an education and he will learn and then after that, when he is an adult, he will know.” Maybe he will return to Mali to see his parents.
“But for now, what’s important for us and for him is to welcome him and keep that lovely smile on his face.”