Jean Asselborn (LSAP) posted a photo of the letter, handwritten in French, and a painting 14-year-old Asma sent him on his Facebook wall, adding: “I wanted to make this letter public to show how important it is not to look down on asylum law, not to close our eyes and doors but to give Asma and many others a chance to live here without fear and hunger.”

In the letter, Asma writes: “I hope that when I am older, I will be a useful member of society and other people like you […] When I see you, I feel like my father is by my side. I miss my family a lot but there is nothing I can do about it. I did this painting  for you, I hope you like it.”

Asma adds that she hopes one day to write about her experiences and is studying hard. She closes by saying, “please do not forget me.”

Asma was the only girl among 12 unaccompanied minors to arrive in Luxembourg in April 2020, from refugee camps in Greece. Efforts to transfer the child refugees had earlier been hampered by pandemic measures taken in Greece. This meant they had to be flown to Luxembourg on a chartered flight.

Moria, on the island of Lesbos, was Greece’s largest migrant camp, housing around 12,500 migrants until it burned down last September. According to the Greek Council for Refugees and Oxfam, a replacement camp, dubbed Moria 2.0 by residents, offers abysmal conditions with little or no running water, sewage management or treatment.