“Forza Eitan.” Eitan sleeps. Eitan does not know it, but outside his little room at Regina Margherita Hospital in Turin, Italy, dozens of people – and a whole country – have been repeating it: “Forza Eitan,” Eitan, stay strong.
Eitan Moshe Biran, five, is the only survivor of the Lake Maggiore cable car disaster that on Sunday killed 14 people. Among the victims were five Israelis, the boy’s parents, Amit Biran and Tal Peleg, his two-year-old brother, Tom, and his great-grandparents Itshak Cohen and Barbara Konisky Cohen.
Eight Italian citizens and one Iranian national also lost their lives.
Vittorio Zorloni and Elisabetta Persanini were about to get married. Their five-year-old son, Mattia, was still alive when the rescue workers arrived. He was evacuated to the hospital right after Eitan, but he soon succumbed to his wounds.
Roberta Pistolato and her husband, Angelo Vito Gasparro, were on a day trip to celebrate her 40th birthday.
The other four victims, two couples, Serena Cosentino and Mohammadreza Shahaisavandi, and Silvia Malnati and Alessandro Merlo, had also chosen that little corner of paradise, where the blue of the lake blends with the green in a breathtaking view, to spend a special day together.
Amit Biran brought his family to Italy to study medicine in Pavia, a small town some 35 kilometers from Milan, renowned for its university, which attracts many Israelis.
The disconcerting loss of life has brought the two countries together.
Together, appalled Italians and Israelis have watched the images of the wreckage. They cried looking at the pictures of the victims, including the Biran family, Amit with his boys and Tal in her wedding dress.
Together, Italians and Israelis were outraged when the preliminary investigation uncovered that the cable car’s braking system was tampered with to hide its malfunctioning.
And together, they held their breath when the first positive updates about Eitan’s condition started to emerge, when he opened his eyes, just for a moment, on Wednesday and when the doctors said he had spoken with his Aunt Aya on Thursday.
“Forza Eitan,” read a message left by supporters of the Juventus soccer club outside the hospital, together with a piece of artwork created by the father of a classmate of Eitan at the preschool he attended in Pavia, featuring dozens of colorful little hands.
“Hi Eitan, you must make it. I’m leaving you my son’s stuffed animal to play and sleep with. I love you. A mom,” read another message, pinned on a teddy bear that a woman left at the hospital for him.
According to the doctors, Eitan was probably saved by his father’s embrace, by his robust body that protected him from the fall. The image has become, in the world of many Italian public figures who share the story on social media, a symbol of parental love.
“I have felt the closeness,” Israeli Ambassador to Italy Dror Eydar said Thursday. “The Italians have been very nice. They cared; they helped as much as they could.”
Right after the tragedy, Eydar tweeted a condolence message for the victims. A few hours later, he found out that among them were several of his fellow citizens, and he soon traveled to the hospital in Turin.
“I met with Amit’s parents, Eitan’s grandparents,” Eydar said. “The governor of the Piedmont Region, Alberto Cirio, was also there.”
Cirio and Eydar saw the boy as the doctors were transferring him to his room after an MRI, which showed that there was no damage to his brain or spinal cord.
“I wanted to hurry up and tell his grandparents, but first I felt the need to give him a blessing,” Eydar said. “I am a Cohen, and I recited the traditional priestly blessing for him. Also Cirio performed the sign of the cross and prayed.”
Pope Francis expressed deep pain for the cable-car tragedy and invited everyone to pray for Eitan.
“In one of the interviews I have given, all of the sudden, the journalist just stopped to tell me, ‘All Italy is praying for Eitan,’” Eydar said.
Eitan’s father, Amit, had worked for a period of time for Milan’s Jewish community security service. Italian Jewish institutions opened two fundraising campaigns to support Eitan. Within a few hours, they had collected tens of thousands of euros from hundreds of people.
“I think that people look at Eitan’s survival as a sign of hope in this terrible tragedy,” Eydar said.
Forza Eitan.