Italian press, media laud heroic act of Egyptian student

CAIRO – 27 March 2019: The Italian media lauded the heroic act of the Egyptian kid who rescued a school bus in Milan after its driver tried to kidnap the students and set the bus on fire.

Ramy Shehata, 13, succeeded to save the lives of 51 Italian students kidnapped in Italy by the Senegalese driver who threatened to shoot the students and set the bus on fire.



The driver took all the students’ cell phones by force. Ramy denied he had a phone and secretly contacted his father asking him to call the police. The police forces hurried to the scene and arrested the driver at once.

The police statement reported that there are no causalities among students whose ages range from 11 to 13 years.

The Italian police thanked Ramy for his courage and the Italian minister of interior decided to grant him the Italian citizenship.

The Egyptian Embassy in Italy held a ceremony to honor the Egyptian student and Egyptian Ambassador Hisham Badr granted him a certificate of appreciation in the presence of a set of senior officials including Gehan Zaki, head of the Egyptian Community in Italy.

“It is such an honor to acquire the Italian citizenship. I aspire to get it; however, I am not the decision maker. In spite of my young age, I was able to make a difference,” Shehata elaborated to one of the Italian newspapers.

For his part, the Egyptian ambassador to Italy praised the courageous reaction of Shehata describing the Egyptian student’s act as an exceptional bravery.

“President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi always stresses on the importance of combating terrorism. Shehata combated terrorism on a small scale. Although he is young, he was able to act wisely and embody Egypt’s code of ethics. I thank him on behalf of the Egyptian and Italian governments,” the Egyptian ambassador to Italy stated.

Ramy recounted his feeling when the driver was threatening him with a knife, saying "we all felt scared and unable to take any action. The best moment was when we all returned to our homes safely."

Moreover, the mayor of Milan assured that the only barricade that might stop Shehata from getting the Italian citizenship is that he is under 18 years of age.