Mariam, Syrian pregnant woman and her two children, Ghiorghis and Mansour, drowned while attempting to reach the Greek island of Lesbos from Turkey on March 22, 2013. Mohammed Mustafa and Saadia, and others whose names are unknown, died with them. Qurban and Musa, who suffocated in a truck on a ferry from Patras to Ancona on June 23, 2012.

And again Aziz, Syrian, who died of cold on the border between Turkey and Bulgaria on 21 December 2012; Issa and Anwar, drowned off the coast of the Aegean with 59 other Syrian and Palestinian refugees, including 28 children and 3 newborn babies, on an overcrowded boat.

These are only a few of the victims of the journeys to Europe for whom the Community of Sant'Egidio, together with the Astalli Center Association, Italian Caritas, Migrantes Foundation, Federation of the Evangelical Churches and ACLI has organised a prayer vigil for the World Refugee Day. 

While the congregation joins the singing of the choirs of the various immigrant communities, the names and storiesare read and candles are lit.

It is the punctual and personal memory, the first action. It is requesting our world to stop and remember those who lost their lives in an attempt to look for a humane future for themselves and their children.

From this shared memory also comes an appeal to governments and to the European Community to makeevery effort in order to protect refugees and safeguard the lives and dignity of migrants, starting with the opening of humanitarian corridors and of a European Drop-in Centre in Lampedusa .