"Layla e Alioma in Europa" is the original Italian title, published in June 2024 by Gruppo Albatros Il Filo in the Nuove voci. Strade series. The German translation of the novel will be published from October 1, 2025, under the title “Europe in their Heart.”
The story springs from true inspiration: Gino Pacifico draws his inspiration from real events—from the fates of migrants, from images familiar to us from the Mediterranean, from the fragments of lives left behind when home is shattered. The characters Layla and Alioma are fictional, but their suffering, their struggle, and their hope reflect what many refugees experience in reality. The author creates authenticity through proximity: stories of work, loss, the sea, violent escape routes, as well as experiences in reception centers and the emotional bond that endures across distances. (The publisher's texts emphasize how Pacifico repeatedly presents migration as a human experience in his books.)
Two women, two escapes, one indomitable will
Layla, a doctor from Syria, experiences the most devastating loss: she loses her son and husband during the dangerous sea voyage. Alioma, a young mother from Eritrea, is left with nothing after experiencing monstrous violence. Both land in Lampedusa – traumatized, desperate, yet hungry for life. In that in-between space, in that place where people often only arrive or perish, the two meet – and briefly find comfort in their shared distress.
Then their paths diverge: Layla travels to Germany, where she meets her former fiancé, who works as a surgeon; Alioma makes it to Rome, where she lives with a housemate who takes her in. But distance doesn't mean the end of their connection: letters, messages, and memories continue to connect them—and at the same time, they face the new challenges of a foreign country, a foreign language, and foreign expectations.
True events as the driving force behind dramatic narrative
Although While Pacifico isn't writing a documentary biography, the details are close to real-life fates: the fear of death on the Mediterranean, the coldness of bureaucratic admission procedures, the uncertainty of a new beginning. These elements are based on harrowing reports and testimonies from refugee camps and the Mediterranean that I know of, which Pacifico has evidently woven into conversations, research, and volunteer work. His own background—born in Mondragone, living in Germany, committed to the issue of flight and migration, and a multiple award-winner—reinforces the impression that what's at stake here isn't an abstract drama, but rather a story of lived experience and retelling.
The author's character, Layla, for example, is reminiscent of many Syrian doctors who carry their medical training and their calling with them—even after losing everything. Alioma's story speaks to the experiences of women who have to endure violence, loss, and the journey to a foreign country not only physically but also emotionally. The author weaves these stories together in such a way that they not only move us—they challenge us: for empathy, for responsibility, for the question of what Europe truly means when people reach its limits and still have hope.
Between loss and solidarity: Why “Europe in their heart” must be heard now
This book isn't easy reading—it's oppressive, at times gruesome, and always painfully present. But it also offers glimmers of hope: moments of humanity, of solidarity, when Layla and Alioma share, comfort, form new bonds, and don't lose their voices. Pacifico's style is clear and unvarnished, his perspective unwaveringly attentive.
Anyone who reads "Europe in their Heart" will not only experience a story about migration; they will enter the hearts of Layla and Alioma, their escape, their hopes, their dreams—and be awakened by these stories. For they are: Europe—in all its fragmentation, its strangeness, its opportunity.
The book "Europe in their Heart" is available in German language in bookstores and from our publishing house, as a printed book (ISBN 978-3-910347-75-5) and as an EPUB (ISBN: 978-3-910347-76-2).
Blog article published in English in October 2025. Machine translated from German.
