It is called the Tree of Macedonia and it is a small community made up of two families, one Italian and Catholic, the other Moroccan and Muslim. In addition to their six natural children, they have fostered five other children
The latest arrival is only six years old, with a black bob, sparkling eyes and a smile that demands attention. «Why didn’t they immediately take me into family number four?» She wonders with the disarming innocence of one who, even so small, has already lived the experience of multiple foster care. Family number four is that of the Albero della Macedonia of Zinasco (Pavia), which, in reality, is a family of families, in which the stories of Margherita and Beppe Casolo and Fatima and Mustapha Hanich, their six children, intertwine natural, of the five in foster care, of the three grandchildren and of the many people who gravitate around you. Lives that mingle and face the beauty, but also the hardships, of living together every day, declining the challenges of intercultural and interreligious dialogue in a concrete, daily and, precisely, family dimension.
Beppe and Margherita, in fact, are Italian and Christian, Milanese who have moved to the countryside; Mustapha and Fatima are Moroccans and Muslims, who arrived respectively in 1988 and 1996 in our country where their children were born. And the distinctions could go on for a long time: habits, customs, traditions, food, lifestyles and education… But then there are the things they have in common and which are perhaps more profound and important: the sense of family and hospitality , the ability to question and get involved, a deep friendship. And the desire, too, to party. Moreover, there is no shortage of occasions, not only, for example, for the very numerous birthdays, but also for the many religious celebrations of both families, which are shared with respect for all.
It all started about fifteen years ago. «The initiative – says Margherita – was born from a project of the Comin Cooperative, which deals with reception and foster care. When it was relaunched in 2008, Beppe and I met with Fatima and Mustapha. We had met shortly before…». «At the Moroccan consulate – Fatima intervenes – I saw a flyer that spoke of Amina’s house. I was there to register my daughter who I had called by that name. I couldn’t resist: I contacted the Comin Cooperative which was looking for families willing to start a process of welcoming children and young people and I presented myself to a meeting. We were about fifty people. My daughter spontaneously went into Margherita’s arms and everything started from there ».
Even if not everything has been easy and neither is it today. “Originally – Margherita explains – there was a great desire to undertake a new and pioneering experience that responded very much to the principles and dictates of our faiths. Coexistence has always been very normal, with respect for religious differences and for each one’s way of acting and moving. The essential thing is to be aware of them, to know them. They have never been real obstacles. And then there is a lot of sharing and comparison, especially with regard to the educational aspects that we also deal with a team of educators and psychologists”.
In June 2010, four foster siblings also arrived, aged between 6 and 9, officially two dependent on one family, two on the other, but with shared paths that continue today given that, despite being and some adults, they are all still there, in the large farmhouse in Zinasco, where they moved in 2016, after the association L’Albero della Macedonia was established. Here there are private spaces for each family and common areas, which come alive with the shouting presence of many boys and girls.
«Ours is a community experience – Beppe is keen to underline -. The two families essentially live together, sharing an educational project that concerns both natural and foster children. We organize ourselves on the basis of everyone’s needs and we support each other, putting together our riches and our differences, to put them at the service of a project, which necessarily also has an intercultural and interreligious aspect”.
Living everything everyone is somehow the style of this community, where even religious affiliation has never represented an obstacle, also because everyone – including children – has been guaranteed great freedom.
«We greatly value the comparison – says Margherita -, also because we are aware that our two families have made a very demanding choice, but they have always shown themselves willing to discuss any type of problem as well as all the positive aspects. And then, when we had difficulties, we asked for help. We had the strength and courage to ask for help. The comparison with others and the external gaze have brought something new and interesting to our experience, they have given us the possibility to tell ourselves and to be appreciated, but also to receive constructive criticism. All this has also helped us to find new stimuli and energy».
«As in all families – Mustapha intervenes – there are joys and pains. There is a lot of effort but also a lot of satisfaction. We certainly have to face a great commitment, but it’s also nice to see our kids growing up and becoming progressively independent, each trying to take their own path”.
The experience of the Tree of Macedonia has also enriched the path of reflection and dialogue between faiths promoted by the Forum of Religions of Milan. Forum which, every year since 2001 (with the exception of the Covid-19 period), has created what is called the “Tenda del Silenzio”, a space set up at the Colonne di San Lorenzo, where for two days anyone can stop and give testimony of one’s will for peace. A silence that everyone can experience as they see fit, universal language or common space, which can also become a place for meeting, listening and comparing.
Even the two families of the Tree of Macedonia have participated several times in this initiative making it vibrate, in reality, with the many voices of the many children and young people, natural and foster children – and, now, also of their grandchildren – which make the days of this big family. Not only that, though. With their experience they testify that – contrary to what many claim – it is possible to live together despite the differences.
The potential of this community and the positive message that emerges from it had already been well understood by the then bishop of Pavia, Giovanni Giudici, who had blessed the community in 2010: the Tree of Macedonia – he said – is “a precious experience for a positive future to indicate to our society which experiences the rapprochement of different cultures and religions with a certain effort. Examples like these, so demanding and generous, are a strong encouragement to continue in this work of rapprochement”. An example of great relevance even today.