BEIRUT: A Lebanese policewoman who comforted an infant and fed her milk while her mother was hospitalized after falling unconscious at Beirut airport was honored for what social media users dubbed a ‘humane and empathetic’ act.
First Adjutant Nadia Nasser was on duty when the unidentified baby’s mother suffered a sudden illness and fell unconscious at a checkpoint inside Beirut International Airport earlier this month.
Photos of Nasser holding the months-old baby in her arms, preparing a milk bottle and feeding her went viral across social media, where users described the policewomen’s act as ‘motherly, compassionate and humane’ behavior.
Brig. Gen. Moussa Karnib of Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces honored Nasser on Friday for caring for the infant for almost two hours at the airport after her mother was rushed to a hospital.
A media statement said the first adjutant was honored upon the directives of ISF’s Director General Maj. Gen. Raed Abdullah, after she took personal initiative on Feb. 2 to comfort the infant.
Commenting on Nasser’s photos that went viral, a user called Sami said she should be promoted for her ‘selfless and empathetic’ act.
Another user, Joe, commented: “She should be rewarded.
“This is how loyalty and love for one’s job and country are built,” wrote a user called Youssef.
Media reports said that when the incident happened, the baby’s fear and cries prompted Nasser to take the initiative to comfort and remain beside her until her mother’s condition stabilized.
ISF’s statement did not clarify whether Nasser and the baby accompanied the mother in the ambulance or how they were reunited later.
Policewoman honored for soothing crying baby when her mother fell unconscious at Beirut airport
https://arab.news/ybytu
Policewoman honored for soothing crying baby when her mother fell unconscious at Beirut airport
- ISF honors first adjutant for comforting and feeding baby-milk to scared infant whose mother was rushed to hospital
- Social media users praise policewoman for her ‘humane and empathetic’ act after photos went viral
Not Italy’s Devil’s Island: Sardinia bristles at mafia inmate plan
- A third of top-risk mafia prisoners could go to Sardinia
- Officials say clans may follow relatives and infiltrate economy
NUORO: In Nuoro, a remote city on the Italian island of Sardinia, a high stone wall rings the local prison, a fortress-like complex once renowned for holding high-profile mobsters and convicted terrorists far from the mainland.
Only a handful of top mafiosi remain detained there and Sardinia is no longer seen as a dumping ground for criminals, instead building an international reputation around tourism.
But that could change under a plan of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government which has alarmed residents. In December, a justice undersecretary said about 750 prisoners held under the rigid “41bis” regime would be concentrated in just a few dedicated facilities across Italy, overseen by special guard units to improve security.
Sardinia has been told it may get nearly a third of them, split between Sassari in the north, already housing about 90, the capital Cagliari, where around 90 are due to arrive this month, and Nuoro — reviving old stigma concerns.
“Sardinia does not deserve to be seen as Italy’s Cayenne,” said Governor Alessandra Todde, invoking the notorious former French Guiana penal colony on Devil’s Island.
Worries of Mafia infiltration
Italy’s 41bis regime, named after the law that regulates it, is among the most restrictive in Europe. Introduced in 1992 after the murder of anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, it imposes near-total isolation on prisoners and was designed to stop bosses running their operations from behind bars.
The law says it should “preferably” be enforced on Italy’s islands. The late boss of the Sicilian mafia, Salvatore “Toto” Riina, was among those once held in Sardinia.
Locals and authorities fear the government plan could prompt mafia clans to move from mainland Italy to be near jailed relatives, creating opportunities to launder illicit money and infiltrate business, particularly in less developed areas, such as Nuoro, a city of 30,000 people.
Silvio Lai, a Sardinian lawmaker with the opposition Democratic Party, visited the city prison last month and said renovation work was already ongoing, potentially making room for at least 30 new maximum-security inmates.
“Weak economies can be infiltrated easily, and Nuoro is about an hour’s drive from the Costa Smeralda,” Lai said, suggesting a mafia foothold in the city could swiftly spread to the island’s luxurious tourist resort.
The Justice Ministry did not respond to a request to comment on the work.
Improving national security
Autonomous mafia groups have never emerged in sparsely populated Sardinia, but magistrates say investigations have been opened into alleged clan penetration in the north of the island, possibly encouraged by the presence of detained mobsters.
“Prosecutors are keeping a close watch on the phenomenon of Camorra (a mafia group based around Naples) investments... especially in the tourism, hospitality and restaurant sectors,” said Cagliari chief prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio.
At a December meeting with regional officials, Justice Undersecretary Andrea Delmastro Delle Vedove downplayed the risk of a mass move to Sardinia, minutes show, arguing that families of 41bis detainees do not typically leave clan-controlled areas.
“This (plan) will ensure greater national security... will make individual prisons safer because only specialized prison guard units will be deployed,” Delmastro said.
However, Maria Cristina Ornano, head of the sentence enforcement tribunal in Cagliari, said police and the judiciary will need increased security resources if more mobsters arrive.
“Once organized crime takes root here, we will not be able to get rid of it. We can see it in parts of southern Italy, which are among the most
