Nawal Soufi is never without her mobile phone and thousands of Syrian refugees have reason to be grateful for that. Caught unawares, she called the Italian coastguard, who quickly explained how she, a fluent Arabic speaker thanks to her Moroccan heritage, could tell the terrified migrants how to find their GPS coordinates on their satellite phone and ensure they could be rescued. Since that morning, the same scenario has been played out hundreds of times and Nawal -- as she is universally known in Italy -- has become a symbol of hope for many migrants risking their lives to make it to Europe.



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