TATOUN, Egypt — With its well-kept European-style villas, high-rise buildings, chic cafes and pizzerias, Tatoun is a far cry from nearby villages in Egypt’s central governorate of Fayoum. The picturesque village, which has a population of 54,000, is known as “Little Italy,” because about one-fourth of its working-age residents live and work in Italy, sending money back home.
Many of those who have found their way across the Mediterranean have made use of the Italian legal system, which does not immediately deport unaccompanied minors, Hussein Mohammed, a member of the Tatoun village council, told Al-Monitor.