The unaccompanied children of METAdrasi’s Transit Accommodation Facility, welcomed with great joy on the island of Chios, little Amal, in her first stop on European ground along her long walk.

Along the rhythm of the traditional “Painemata” of Chios and with the participation of the Chios Philharmonic, the Chios Music School, the UNHCR, as well as many people, we welcomed Amal on this symbolic journey of reunification with her mother in London.

For this celebration, the children of the accommodation facility wrote and sang “Painemata” in Arabic, Farsi, English and Greek which they later accompanied with the music of cajons that they played.

This international project took place in the framework of the Chios Music Festival. It was a great celebration of solidarity that left our children with a big smile on their faces and filled them with the warmth of acceptance and humanity.

We hope that on this long walk, little Amal will convey the message of solidarity and responsibility sharing among European countries – an issue that METAdrasi has been highlighting for years with every possible mean – so that the thousands of refugee children can feel protected and integrated into our societies.

METAdrasi’s Transit Accommodation Facility in Chios is funded since June 2020 by EEA Grants in the framework of the Asylum and Migration programme.

Funded by EEA Grants
Fund operated by ΣΟΛ Crowe and HumanRights360