Taking in a mentally ill stranger into your own family in your late 20s? In Geel, Belgium, this is everyday life and an ancient tradition. Visiting Gitte, Tarcies and their house guest Arthur.
Arthur is three years older than his father and five years older than his mother. The 31-year-old smiles as he says: “It would be silly to call them mum and dad” – but officially the three of them are a family. Tarcies Remes, 28, an employee at a technology company. His girlfriend Gitte Van Doninck, 26, a geriatric nurse. And Arthur, whose real name is different. Their house is in a new housing development where pregnant women stroll along the paved paths that are still free of weeds. Playgrounds, converted attics, sandpits in the garden. Everything here screams: offspring on the way.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
