Does this complicate the narrative, or what? The two boys who saved the kids on the commandeered Italian bus are the sons of Arab immigrants. Though born in Italy, neither are citizens, because their parents have irregular immigration status. Under Italian law, they would have to wait until they turn 18 to apply for Italian citizenship. The main hero, Rami Shehata, 13, the one who hid his smartphone and made emergency phone calls from the hijacked bus, will be offered citizenship by a grateful Italian state. Here’s the story from Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Google translated this part:

The first to call the carabinieri from the hijacked bus was Adam El Hamami. Then Rami Shehata was able to explain to the rescuers the exact location of the bus, giving directions based on what he saw around him, describing the buildings and signs. But the boy knew the Paullese [the district where the bus was] well, because he had already walked along with his parents. Rami managed to deceive the hijacker Ousseynou Sy of having placed the phone on the dashboard at the start, while in reality he had kept it in his pocket.

Forty-nine Italian children owe their lives in part to Adam El Hamami and Rami Shehata. Think about that.

Here’s a fuller account of what happened on the bus, and what Rami did, from The Telegraph. 

Here’s video (nothing graphic) of the moment the kids escaped the bus:

Milano, dirotta autobus e appicca le fiamme: terrore per 51 studenti.
Grazie alle Forze dell’Ordine intervenuti e ai Vigili del Fuoco per aver evitato che la situazione potesse peggiorare!#sosemergenza pic.twitter.com/NkN07XjEQQ

— M@rio (@jardelm2017) March 20, 2019

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UPDATE: Reader Adamant writes:

This is charming, and these boys are certainly brave, but Italy shouldn’t be in this position in the first place. Our Italian friends have many talents: “successfully integrating large number of foreigners into a semi-harmonious whole” isn’t amongst them.

Food, yes. Wine, yes. Women, hell yes. Not every country is equally talented in all matters.

Oh, I agree! Still, it’s an interesting twist to the story.