The Diocese of Rome and the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development of the Holy See

welcome Little Amal: "The Walk" project makes a stop in Saint Peter's Square

On Friday 10 September at 10.30 a.m. the 3.5 metre-tall puppet, made by the Handspring Puppet Company, will stop near the Angels Unawares monument inside Bernini's colonnade. The puppet will be welcomed by Cardinal Michael Czerny, under-secretary of the Migrants and Refugees Section, and Msgr. Benoni Ambarus, auxiliary bishop delegate for Charity and Migrants.

“The Walk”, an itinerant festival that will start from Gaziantep, near the Turkish-Syrian border, and will arrive in Manchester, in the United Kingdom, makes a stop in Rome. It will be led by little Amal: a 3.5 metre high puppet of a young refugee girl of about 9 years old, ideally representing all displaced children, many of whom are separated from their parents. She will travel more than 8,000 km in search of her family to embody the warning: "Don't forget us". On Friday 10 September, at 10.30 am, she will stop in St Peter's Square, near the Angels Unawares monument - the bronze sculpture by Timothy Schmalz depicting a group of migrants - inside the Bernini colonnade. Welcoming Amal will be Cardinal Michael Czerny, undersecretary of the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development, and Msgr. Benoni Ambarus, auxiliary bishop delegate for Charity, for Migrants and for the pastoral care of Roma and Sinti.

For the occasion, the diocese of Rome is organising a party with the participation of dozens of children from various Roman parishes. Msgr. Ambarus will give the welcome address, followed by Cardinal Czerny and the testimony of a refugee child hosted in a Caritas facility in Rome. The young participants will then be able to take part in a workshop for the construction of a kite, promoted by Ascs, the Scalabrinian Agency for Development Cooperation. The Agesci Roma 51 Scouts, meanwhile, will build a tent, as Abraham did at the Oaks of Mamre. The event will end with a snack offered to all the children and a farewell to Amal, who will continue her journey through Europe.

"Amal is big and beautiful, and meeting her is a pleasure," says Cardinal Czerny, "but she immediately reminds us that meeting the vulnerable migrants, precarious workers and asylum seekers in our midst requires more than just a glance. Each of them, with their own baggage of suffering and dreams, needs and talents, is waiting for us to open our ears, our minds and hearts as well as our eyes and stretch out our hands. The Migrants and Refugees Section is happy to support Amal's journey and to share this moment of encounter promoted by the diocese of Rome. "Amal is a child and a foreigner, completely defenceless and among the most vulnerable. Uprooted from her family, her community, her aspirations, she must rely on strangers to welcome and protect her in order to become the person God has made her and to take her rightful place in the community that welcomes her". In preparing to meet her, it is useful to reread the Message for World Migrant and Refugee Day 2017 entitled "Minor Migrants, Vulnerable and Voiceless". Among migrants, Pope Francis says, children like Amal "constitute the most vulnerable group because, as they come to life, they are invisible and voiceless". "Amal invites us to open our eyes and listen to their voices, come and meet her when she is in Rome!"

"The Church of Rome is once again strongly urging everyone's attention to the drama of family separations," stresses Archbishop Gianpiero Palmieri, vice-gerent of the diocese of Rome, "and invites us to consider it a priority when talking about migration and reception. In the last few days, we have been witnessing the tragedy of the Afghans who are leaving their country, and of the many minors entrusted by their parents to foreign soldiers in order to save them. The tragedy of the many minors who remain without their parents must be brought to the attention of everyone, and in particular our Christian community is called to commit itself to welcoming and supporting the families of refugees and especially the minors who remain alone. It is on this theme that little Amal, who left Syria on her way to find her mother, wishes to draw our attention. Caritas Rome, in its two first reception centres for unaccompanied minors, is witness to many dramatic situations, in the face of which all ideological positions must fall to make way for a feeling of brotherly welcome".

“The Walk” is a Good Chance Production presented by Good Chance, Stephen Daldry, David Lan and Tracey Seaward. The artistic director is Amir Nizar Zuabi. Little Amal is a creation of the Handspring Puppet Company.