Valery, the girl who ran to pope, has a story to tell
dubai — The young girl from the picture that went viral following the historic papal mass in Abu Dhabi this week is, in fact, 8-year-old Valery Sanchez, not Gabriela, as many had claimed.
In a an interview with Khaleej Times at their home in Dubai, Andrea, Valery’s mother, said they have been living in the UAE for more than two years.
Her daughter’s brave dash towards Pope Francis on Tuesday was a desperate plea to beg for her father’s forgiveness. He’s an inmate in a Dubai prison.
Gabriela Atehortua — the girl mistakenly identified in the picture — is her friend. Like Valery, she made a dash towards the Pope and received his blessing. And like Valery, her father too is in prison here.
Back in December, the girls penned a letter to the pope in the hope of giving it to him at the papal mass this month. But never in their wildest dreams did they expect the encounter to unfold the way it did.
Remember the powerful image of the courageous young girl who broke through the crowd and ran towards Pope Francis after the historic papal mass in Abu Dhabi? Her name is not Gabriela. The picture is that of eight-year-old Valery Sanchez.
Contrary to several media reports that followed after the image went viral this week, the brave Colombian girl is not a visitor in the UAE but has been living here for more than two years.
She is the daughter of Andres Sanchez Rios, a prisoner at the Al Aweer Central Jail. Her friend, sixyear-old Gabriela Atehortua — the girl mistakenly identified in the viral picture — made the dash towards the pope with her.
Like Valery, she was blessed by Pope Francis, who, during the papal mass, ordered security to stop the popemobile so he could bless the girls. And like Valery’s, her father Jason Atehortua is also an inmate in Dubai.
The duo’s spur-of-the-moment dart towards the pope was a desperate plea to beg for forgiveness for their fathers. And their hope is that they’ll be reunited with them one day soon.
“We tried to reach out to the pope because, in some of the countries he visits, an amnesty for the release of non-violent prisoners sometimes happens. We saw it as our hope,” Andrea Sanchez and Jessica Atehortua (mothers of the girls) told Khaleej Times in an interview at their home in Dubai.
Now, they are hoping to get another letter, which has been translated into Arabic, to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
“We have written to him, telling of our story. He is kind. We hope he will receive it.”
Run for the pope
In the heartwarming encounter caught on camera on Tuesday, Valery and Gabriela slipped underneath the security fencing which separated the crowd from the pope. Against the backdrop of cheers from onlookers within the Zayed Sports Stadium, they made a dash for his moving car; both girls in tears.
While the emotional sprint was not planned, they did enter the stadium with the hope of getting two pieces of paper to the pope: The first, an image hand-drawn by the girls depicting each of them walking hand-in-hand with their fathers under the Columbian, Argentinian and UAE flags.
The second, a letter penned by the girls and their mothers back in December. It said “we are three women, with two little girls” and spoke of their fathers’ sorrow for their crime, saying they have “learned their lesson and have deep regrets”.
In documents shared with Khaleej Times, it showed both men were arrested in July 2015 for house robbery. They were subsequently sentenced to 13 years in prison in February 2016.
“This country is beautiful but we are suffering here without our husbands. They deeply regret what they have done, they are asking for forgiveness. They want to apologise to their complainant too. For us, we just want our daughters to be reunited with their fathers for good.”
Valery is studying in Dubai but Gabriela is not in school due to financial issues. However, the fivesome, along with Andres’s mother, do not want to leave the UAE for Columbia.
“If we do, the girls will be far from their fathers. That will bring them great pain so we are torn between staying and leaving,” they said.
Following their encounter with
the pope on Tuesday, the mothers said both children are praying it won’t be long until they can travel home to Columbia, each with their fathers in tow.
“The kids are thinking in their heads a release will happen soon. They aren’t sleeping, only talking about the moment they will see their fathers again,” Andrea said.
The kids are thinking in their heads a release will happen soon. They aren’t sleeping, only talking about the moment they will see their fathers again.” Andrea Sanchez,
mother of Valery
They made a mistake. They are sorry. Never did we think they would get a sentence like 13 years. They are being treated well in prison, but we want them to come home.”
Marie, mother of Andres