Zabihullah's* (name changed) story begins many years ago in Afghanistan. It is characterised by his experiences, which forced him to leave his home country and dare to flee to Europe.
After being pushed back to Turkey several times by both Greek and Bulgarian officials, he met our Josoor team in Istanbul and became a good friend. He is characterised by his warmth and willingness to help. In this blog post, he tells his story, starting in Afghanistan.
“Why did I come from Afghanistan and how did I come from Afghanistan?
Our family life in Afghanistan was in grave danger because my two brothers were working with the American Army at the base in Kunar. The Taliban would always threaten our family and say “You are slaves and your death is coming to us”. The threats increased day by day. One day a rumor spread across town that my brother is dead, killed by the Taliban. This was the hardest day of my life. Eventually we found out that he was still alive but in a very dire situation. Thank God that day also passed. Because there was no other way to save his life than for him to flee into Turkey. We borrowed money and my brother left. He arrived in Turkey and worked there for 2 years.
One day on my way back home from school, I saw all our relatives standing in front of our house, looking very sad.. I was asking “what is it? What happened?”. All they said was that Zia-ul-Haq had been martyred. My other brother was killed. I don’t remember what happened afterwards, I was just completely lost and shocked.
As time went on, one day the Taliban came to our house and dropped bombs on our house. One of my sisters was seriously injured and was lying in a coma in the hospital. The threats and danger became too much for us. I would never leave my home. I was too scared to alert the Taliban.
I had become so hyper vigilant and alert, that even when a school friend had fallen in love with me, I would just cry and shout. Every day we were all wondering what horrible event would happen next. Eventually my family made the decision that I had to leave the country. We owned a cow that we sold, and I was also able to borrow some money from our uncles, albeit with great difficulty. But, in the end, my family managed to gather the money that would allow me to leave. First I went to Pakistan, then to Iran.There is a mountain between Iran and Pakistan which is called Muskil mountain. When we tried to cross the border, three of my friends fell from the cliff and three children from our group died. All of them lost their lives far away from their families, and their families never saw their bodies again.
I finally succeeded in coming to Turkey. Arriving in Turkey, I was arrested by the police and severely beaten and returned to Iran. We had to try again and finally we succeeded in this game. We came to the city Van after three nights walking and after three more nights to Tatwan. There was no water, no food.. After 4 days, we called the smugglers again. They gave us the address of another place where they picked us up and drove us to Istanbul.
Arriving in Istanbul I had no friends or relatives I knew here. I spent five nights in the parks with no Afghani for food, I was in a very difficult situation. I eventually found an Afghan woman and told her my whole story. She allowed me to come with her to her place, I spent 3 nights with there and she helped me to find employment. I went to work in a factory, but after 20 days there was no more work in the factory and I was left without a job.
As time went on I talked to my family and explained to them about my situation here in Turkey and together we decided that no matter what I should try and go ahead. I went to the first “game” (exp. Crossing the border into Europe is often referred to as Game, as it is pure luck if someone is able to reach Europe - or will be pushbacked or killed) on the Greek border. We stayed in Greece for four days, then we moved to Bulgaria. The Bulgarian police arrested me, beat me severely and sent me back to Greece. Here again the Greek police apprehended us. They forced us to cross the river back into Turkey, a person drowned in the icy water. We walked by foot for one night and one day to reach the nearest village. We had no clothes, no shoes and children with us. We were walking naked to the village. It was very cold.
Up until now, I have travelled to Greece four times and I have traveled to Bulgaria three times. Two months ago we were on our way to Bulgaria and the smuggler told us to take some food with us. The weather was very cold. We moved on the explained route and reached the spot, where a car was supposed to pick us up. We had to wait five days there. After two days we ran out of food. Imagine a group of young men, boys, and children, without food for three days and under heavy, cold rain. All of them were soaked wet. I gave my coat to a small child because it was too cold. We called the smuggler and told him that we had no food, that we needed help. The weather was cold. The rain continued for the rest of the day. We were all exhausted. We called the smuggler again and again and he would say that the car was on his way, that it would arrive an hour later. The rain became heavier and the three children cried a lot. We put plastic bags on the ground to collect the water in order to have something to drink at least. When we woke up in the morning, there were no children's voices. I walked over to the children to check on them. They didn't answer, so I removed the plastic bags we had used to protect them a bit from the rain, and saw that the three of them were dead. We called the smuggler and told him that we had lost three people. He told us that he wouldn’t be able to pick us up, but told us how to continue our way. The next night we started moving.
About 10 days later a shepherd came to the forest and we told him to call the police to help us. Two hours later the police came and arrested us. They took our shoes and clothes from us, threw us on the ground and started beating us. Then we were forced into a big car and brought back to the border with Turkey. Someone's head was broken, someone's arm and leg were broken. Before we were sent to Turkey, all the boys were lying on the ground. We walked for two nights and two days and finally we found a village. We were all walking naked to the village. We went to the Turkish police. They took us first to the doctor, then to a camp. We spent 5 days in the camp. After I was released, I came back to Istanbul….
Every time I've been in a game I've been in a situation where my heart is black.”
Recently our ground Team in Istanbul got the information that Zabihullah managed to find a way to reach Serbia. We all wish him to finally reach a country where he feels safe and can rebuild his life.
Zabihullah's* (name changed) story begins many years ago in Afghanistan. It is characterised by his experiences, which forced him to leave his home country and dare to flee to Europe.
After being pushed back to Turkey several times by both Greek and Bulgarian officials, he met our Josoor team in Istanbul and became a good friend. He is characterised by his warmth and willingness to help. In this blog post, he tells his story, starting in Afghanistan.
“Why did I come from Afghanistan and how did I come from Afghanistan?
Our family life in Afghanistan was in grave danger because my two brothers were working with the American Army at the base in Kunar. The Taliban would always threaten our family and say “You are slaves and your death is coming to us”. The threats increased day by day. One day a rumor spread across town that my brother is dead, killed by the Taliban. This was the hardest day of my life. Eventually we found out that he was still alive but in a very dire situation. Thank God that day also passed. Because there was no other way to save his life than for him to flee into Turkey. We borrowed money and my brother left. He arrived in Turkey and worked there for 2 years.
One day on my way back home from school, I saw all our relatives standing in front of our house, looking very sad.. I was asking “what is it? What happened?”. All they said was that Zia-ul-Haq had been martyred. My other brother was killed. I don’t remember what happened afterwards, I was just completely lost and shocked.
As time went on, one day the Taliban came to our house and dropped bombs on our house. One of my sisters was seriously injured and was lying in a coma in the hospital. The threats and danger became too much for us. I would never leave my home. I was too scared to alert the Taliban.
I had become so hyper vigilant and alert, that even when a school friend had fallen in love with me, I would just cry and shout. Every day we were all wondering what horrible event would happen next. Eventually my family made the decision that I had to leave the country. We owned a cow that we sold, and I was also able to borrow some money from our uncles, albeit with great difficulty. But, in the end, my family managed to gather the money that would allow me to leave. First I went to Pakistan, then to Iran.There is a mountain between Iran and Pakistan which is called Muskil mountain. When we tried to cross the border, three of my friends fell from the cliff and three children from our group died. All of them lost their lives far away from their families, and their families never saw their bodies again.
I finally succeeded in coming to Turkey. Arriving in Turkey, I was arrested by the police and severely beaten and returned to Iran. We had to try again and finally we succeeded in this game. We came to the city Van after three nights walking and after three more nights to Tatwan. There was no water, no food.. After 4 days, we called the smugglers again. They gave us the address of another place where they picked us up and drove us to Istanbul.
Arriving in Istanbul I had no friends or relatives I knew here. I spent five nights in the parks with no Afghani for food, I was in a very difficult situation. I eventually found an Afghan woman and told her my whole story. She allowed me to come with her to her place, I spent 3 nights with there and she helped me to find employment. I went to work in a factory, but after 20 days there was no more work in the factory and I was left without a job.
As time went on I talked to my family and explained to them about my situation here in Turkey and together we decided that no matter what I should try and go ahead. I went to the first “game” (exp. Crossing the border into Europe is often referred to as Game, as it is pure luck if someone is able to reach Europe - or will be pushbacked or killed) on the Greek border. We stayed in Greece for four days, then we moved to Bulgaria. The Bulgarian police arrested me, beat me severely and sent me back to Greece. Here again the Greek police apprehended us. They forced us to cross the river back into Turkey, a person drowned in the icy water. We walked by foot for one night and one day to reach the nearest village. We had no clothes, no shoes and children with us. We were walking naked to the village. It was very cold.
Up until now, I have travelled to Greece four times and I have traveled to Bulgaria three times. Two months ago we were on our way to Bulgaria and the smuggler told us to take some food with us. The weather was very cold. We moved on the explained route and reached the spot, where a car was supposed to pick us up. We had to wait five days there. After two days we ran out of food. Imagine a group of young men, boys, and children, without food for three days and under heavy, cold rain. All of them were soaked wet. I gave my coat to a small child because it was too cold. We called the smuggler and told him that we had no food, that we needed help. The weather was cold. The rain continued for the rest of the day. We were all exhausted. We called the smuggler again and again and he would say that the car was on his way, that it would arrive an hour later. The rain became heavier and the three children cried a lot. We put plastic bags on the ground to collect the water in order to have something to drink at least. When we woke up in the morning, there were no children's voices. I walked over to the children to check on them. They didn't answer, so I removed the plastic bags we had used to protect them a bit from the rain, and saw that the three of them were dead. We called the smuggler and told him that we had lost three people. He told us that he wouldn’t be able to pick us up, but told us how to continue our way. The next night we started moving.
About 10 days later a shepherd came to the forest and we told him to call the police to help us. Two hours later the police came and arrested us. They took our shoes and clothes from us, threw us on the ground and started beating us. Then we were forced into a big car and brought back to the border with Turkey. Someone's head was broken, someone's arm and leg were broken. Before we were sent to Turkey, all the boys were lying on the ground. We walked for two nights and two days and finally we found a village. We were all walking naked to the village. We went to the Turkish police. They took us first to the doctor, then to a camp. We spent 5 days in the camp. After I was released, I came back to Istanbul….
Every time I've been in a game I've been in a situation where my heart is black.”
Recently our ground Team in Istanbul got the information that Zabihullah managed to find a way to reach Serbia. We all wish him to finally reach a country where he feels safe and can rebuild his life.
