Mohamad

full interview

Please introduce yourself, with the name you would like us to use.
I’m Mohamad from Afghanistan, province of Kandahar. Country of Afghanistan, city of [redacted].
Is your application accepted?
No. Not yet.
What kind of place do you live in? Are you living in a house or in the camp?
No, in a house. We live in a house.
Can you explain the conditions of your house?
Conditions of the house, it’s fine now. To a degree…
Did you get the house yourself or was it given to you by an organisation?
No, it was given to us by an organisation.
Which organisation?
An organisation called Nostos.
Who do you live with?
There used to be another family living with us. They’d given a house to two families. Later the other person’s wife and young child moved towards Germany slowly and the guy stayed single for six months. These six months were really bothersome. He was single and brought guests home, he had indecent behaviours, it was really bad. I told him a couple of times that I live with my family and I can’t stand those kinds of noises. Finally we managed to get him out. But for six or seven months nobody cared for us no matter what we said.
You travelled with your family, right?
Yes.
How many people are there in your family?
There are a couple of us. Me, my wife, my son and daughter.
How do you spend your days? Do you have a job?
My days… There is nothing to do for me, be it paid or not. I used to work from the age of seven or eight. I keep thinking that one has to keep themselves busy. Sometimes I have things to do outside like an appointment with a doctor or something, or work for someone. If I have nothing to do outside I keep myself busy at home, things like fixing windows or cabinets. I mean I have to be busy. Having nothing to do bothers me, I feel like I’m useless. 
What about studying? Do you study any languages?
I study Greek. I studied English only a little bit because of my lack of abilities and my nerve problems. I could focus in the past because I wasn’t under pressure but now I’m under a lot of pressure. I study Greek but I couldn’t continue English on the side. If I left here I would study English but now that I’m in this country I only want to get a foothold for myself. When I go to a new country I’ll learn the lifestyle there.
Right. What makes you a little happy or makes you feel better? What makes you enjoy life?
Enjoy… When I see other people who are looking for something good to do like me. When I see they’re busy doing something and only think about finishing it without worrying about anything else. (The phrase is somehow incomprehensible) Sometimes… no, a lot of times I’m bothered wherever I am. It makes me happy to think that I managed to survive despite what I had in mind. I lost my whole life in a matter of days. That’s why nothing really puts me down.
How has your life been in Europe? What are the good and bad aspects? Can you explain how things have been ever since you got to Greece?
Good aspects… One of the good aspects is that now I know the importance of being [a decent] human being. Overall when I was in Afghanistan, I and some of my friends only thought about possessing things, things like a house, money, whatever. If I had something I felt like I’ve earned it and if I didn’t have something I felt like I’m worth nothing. Nonetheless, ever since I got here I realise that the only thing that matters is being [a decent] human and truthful. Humanity, truthfulness, and modesty. Afterwards if you earn money it’d get more. That’s the only excellent thing I’ve learned and it’s been really great for me. The bad part is that I feel like an orphan. An orphan who has lost his parents right after meeting them. An orphan who has never really met his parents and now he thinks everyone might be his parents. After coming to Europe at this age, no matter how much I try to forget or nice things happen to me, I know there are [things I’ve] lost. I wasn’t a simple shopkeeper or taxi driver who doesn’t understand what’s happened ever since getting here. Nothing like that. I considered myself free there. I had a life, a good life, and money. I had the best possible life there and I might never be able to live like that in Europe. I know it myself, it’s not possible. Except being [a decent] human. My life… for example from an occupational perspective, I owned my business, I owned my own money, I had my own life. I knew what I was doing. I have no idea what I’m doing here, I have to ask for advice or wait for someone to tell me what to do. Besides the bitter parts there are nice things too. The only nice thing is humanity. I realised that humanity is good and they’re human. The places I’ve been to, my own country, Iran, Turkey, India, Pakistan. When people are in their own country they can be bad or good. Something good that I learned about European countries is that, I’m talking about my own personality, even those who were bad in their own country become [decent] humans, even those who were not good. I understood why those who had a wrong manner or behaviour, be it young or old, girl or boy, become better people upon entering Europe. Because I learned from other people. After seeing these things I tell myself that’s fine.
How do you feel about living in Greece, Europe?
From which aspect?
Every aspect, mentally, psychologically.
Mentally and psychologically for me… It’s not going fine. Neither for me, nor for my wife, nor my daughter. We are so depressed… As I see it. They don’t say anything and I don’t want to ask or remind them of their problems. But I can see it. When we were in Afghanistan every evening when the goldsmiths… generally… After four or five or four thirty the shops start opening little by little. It’s not appropriate for them until that time… After that I called them or they called me, my son or daughter. They asked me if I was coming. I said I was coming. Then they told me they wanted to go out, for example to visit uncle Reza. For a while we went around until night and then we got back. Every night, every evening they were restless. But when I ask them to go out here, they try to refuse somehow. They say they can’t, or they don’t want to, I don’t know, maybe some other day. It’s like they try to stay confined. Like a fish that is free in the sea, but when someone buys it from a shop and puts it in an aquarium, no matter how much they light up the aquarium with lamps and place beautiful stuff in there the fish doesn’t enjoy, it doesn’t live, it’s just alive. It’s just alive and thinks about itself.

Right. Before experiencing these conditions did you ever imagine being able to control or manage them?
How?
The conditions that you just described, how your family is under psychological pressure or…
No. I never imagined it. I could never think of such things. They never occurred to me. To this day they have neither occurred to me nor I heard them from someone else.
Do you think the difficulties you faced, both psychological pressures and hard living conditions, have made you a better person or given you abilities you didn’t have?
No, compared to the past I’m less bold, less brave. In the past if I saw someone was doing something wrong I tried to help them if it was within my power but now I feel like maybe someone, even a small child is smarter than me. My mental skills, my brain’s ability has been reduced. Sometimes when I talk somewhere and use [my mental skills] I realise that I’m doing fine, I can talk, proceed, succeed, do something for my life again. But because I’m a migrant here, I understand that I can’t do [these things]. I’m less bold compared to the past, in every area, business or whatever. I can imagine doing this thing, a shop, an occupation, something like I used to do in the past. But when I think again I tell myself that I can’t do it.
What were the impacts of COVID-19, Coronavirus, on your life, mentally, emotionally…
Nothing’s changed for me. As I said, my children only left the house to go to school. Before [the pandemic] they didn’t leave the house to go anywhere. After the pandemic they stayed at home just like before the pandemic.
Now I want to ask some questions about your past. What made you leave your country? Can you explain for us or not?
I can explain a little. I can’t tell you the complete names and details because of some threats…
Right.
Because of something my son… My son was involved in an issue. [By] someone [who we considered] as someone trustworthy and… (incomprehensible) He used these things all the time but I didn’t know. What I saw… I want to give you an example without letting him notice. Imagine someone whose job is to work for other people and they use this opportunity to learn who the other person is, what is their religion and then take advantage of them.
They did it through your son?
Through… We were threatened because of an issue with my son. An issue with my son.
You did it?
No, not me. Through… for example my son was young. Because of something, a small amount, something was going to happen to him. By those who do this nasty stuff or things like quarrels and fights and change sides everyday. At first I was convincing myself. I didn’t understand before. I used to be like, for example, someone who asks a person inside their shop because they don’t hear the noise of something or assume the electricity is not working. I let them in because I think their job is to fix stuff and things like that. But they want to understand who you are, what you do, and what you have to take advantage of. Be it through your reputation (?) or location or money or your money or anything else that lets them get what they want. They were this kind of people and I didn’t know. Afterwards we got into a quarrel and again I didn’t know what kind of people they were. I thought they were normal people just like us, that we get into a quarrel and if we have a problem they’d take responsibility and apologise. But it didn’t go as I assumed. They were really bad and dangerous people. Finally I had to leave my country and life.
What was your occupation in Afghanistan? If you can tell us.
My job… I was a goldsmith.
A goldsmith…
Yes, goldsmith.
How did you feel at that time? When you were going through these events and met these people or something was about to happen to your son? How did you feel at the time? What were your emotions?
Feeling… feeling very bad… So bad that not me nor anyone else can imagine. I don’t think my emotions at the time were very good.
How was your journey to Europe? Can you tell us some of the bad things that happened to you on the way or the experiences and difficulties that you had?
I’ll explain but only briefly. About the journey… I was really anxious until we reached the Iranian border. I was really… not sure. There is a saying that I’ve heard as a child, the one bitten by a snake is even afraid of black and white ropes (a burnt child dreads the fire). Whenever I saw someone going in the same direction, I assumed they were after us. Until we reached the border, the border of Afghanistan. Since we entered the Iranian territory with our passports I felt that we’re out of danger. After that, for a couple of months I had a lot of problems and I had no idea what I was doing. I’d never been to Iran, I’d only visited the country when I was a child. I remember this one time when my parents received a letter and we went to visit my grandparents and got back. I didn’t know anymore. When we were there, and I saw the problems… I had some cash on me. When we got there I calculated how much I had to spend until I figured out what to do. I used to be a goldsmith. It’s the only occupation where your reputation is everything. They don’t let strangers in. You have to be their cousin or son or some other close relative [for them to trust you]. You can’t suddenly decide you want to do it. There was this place as an apprentice of a goldsmith… But during these two or three months I’d learned about the problems in Iran from my, for example, uncles who’ve been living there for six or five years. My family members, my brother’s children, they’re all sheikhs and mullahs, they used to live in Iran and they still live there. Little by little after talking to them I learned [about the situation in Iran]. The only thing they told me was that after six years they had no rights, everything is like it used to be, they’re just alive and not living. It convinced me that I couldn’t do it. I didn’t have any resident permits and my passport was about to expire. Without legal documents my children couldn’t attend school, our lives would be in shambles. I’d lost one thing in life. I had to leave that place. I kept thinking that I had to go further from where I was. How? I told my wife that being a goldsmith there was like this… People in Iran spoke the same language but I realised it was really difficult. It would be far worse in countries where people didn’t speak the same language. Being a goldsmith is hard, no one lets me in their business. She asked me why I thought that way. I said because I had to put in some effort. She only asked what kind of effort. I said our job, this house, these things only last for ten years. I have experience and I know I can do it, because if one doesn’t know oneself they can’t know other people either. I said I was going to try sewing. I’m not saying anything. We had a little bit of money under the name of my son… I had to mention this before. When my passport was still valid I deposited some money in my bank account and that ruined me. I told them that I’d deposited my money using my passport, what would happen to my money and passport if my residence [application] was rejected. They told me that [I had nothing to worry about because] my passport and money were under my name and they didn’t care about the law. I accepted their words but when my passport expired they didn’t give my money back.
They didn’t give your money back?
No. That’s when I realised why they told me that I couldn’t live in Iran.
Is your money still in Iran?
Yes, my money stayed in Iran. I gave a part to my son who said he wanted to get a house. I learned from my mentor (?) that I shouldn’t keep my money, mobile phone, and other stuff in the same place. That I should distribute it. Give something and get something. That’s why a large sum of my money stayed [in the bank] and a small amount was on me to solve my problems and have some money if I wanted to leave that country. From then on I found an acquaintance for about three months. I told him I didn’t want to borrow any money from him, I only wanted to work for him for three or four months. Something a little better than a manual worker. [I told him] if other people were willing to work for ten hours I’d work for twelve hours but I had a wife and children and I wanted to learn the work sooner and work with him. God bless him, he didn’t refuse and told me to work. But he did something that made me realise that people… it always makes me sad. I don’t care about other people, I always say that I should do what’s best for me. But what he did… He only let me finish the work. Whenever I got close to his sewing machine he told me that still a lot of time was left and I should do my own job. I told him that I had to stay close to his sewing machine [to learn] but he did everything himself. He didn’t let me hear or see or understand anything. I tried to learn by myself. I paid attention to the garments to see what goes where, what you do with this until I learned something. Then I went straight to the guy who sent work to him and told him that I wanted to work for myself. [I asked whether] he was willing to give me some work because I didn’t know anyone else. He told me that ever since I’d started working at that man’s workshop the quality of the work was great. It’d never been this good in the past ten years. He was really satisfied and they had told him that there was a new apprentice who used to be a goldsmith and he’s doing a great job. He told me he knew I could do it. “I’m sure you can succeed.” He said “ But do you have the machinery?” I told him that I could buy it. He asked me what if I couldn’t do it? I said one should never say they’d succeed for sure. If one expected success all the time life’d be impossible. With that in mind I’d get the machinery. It needed some money which I already had. If I could succeed, then I kept doing it and if I couldn’t, then I would realise. I’d lost my life and I wouldn’t lose much by doing that for a little while. I’d sell everything I’d bought and wouldn’t do it anymore. I just wanted to do an experiment. He agreed. On the very same day I went and got the machinery, a sewing machine and this and that. I returned home. On the first day he asked for one of this and that, then on the second day he asked for twelve female uniforms. That’s how it started. After I finished the twelve uniforms he told me that if I kept working like that he’d send me work all the time because he’s been close to our house for the past ten years. I asked him if it [the quality of the work] was good and he was satisfied. He said that he’s very satisfied. God bless him. He kept sending us work and we did them at home with the help of my wife. I also learned sewing and realised that if I couldn’t keep being a goldsmith in Iran or in a better country I can at least sew and sustain myself. It was the experience that I had in Iran and realised that I couldn’t keep living in that country. Also on the way, I faced a lot of hardships, not just a little. I can’t tell you anymore.
Right. How did you feel at that time? When you were going through all those bad events like how they refused to give back your money or the difficulties you faced on the journey and you can’t talk about. How did all that make you feel?
Feelings… Well, anyone in the same situation would feel bad and I’m sure they’d never forget. Any human being. Anyone. There are two things that always remain in this world, kindness and bitterness. It’s good to be kind to others(?). What one does out of kindness is never forgotten. Cruelty as well… I can’t forget it at all and I still have it in my mind. But I understand that I’ve lost [what I had] and I should focus on surviving. Not getting back [what I had] but just surviving.
When do you think about the events you experienced on your way? [Events that happened recently] when you were in Greece or before that when you were on the road? When do you feel or what makes you think about them?
Only if I get alone or I remember old things like my [old] life. When I see these they make a difference. I keep thinking about how it used to be, what happened and then I wish I did this in this situation or did that when that thing happened. I pass time like this… when I come to myself I realise I’ve spent three or four or five hours thinking about this stuff.
How do you feel when you have a lot on your mind?
I don’t feel good. I feel sad. Not for myself. It crosses my mind that those people and their problems… well they keep living their lives with these problems (incomprehensible) What kind of difficulties they have, regarding their housing, location, life. That’s what I think about. Now I understand people have no way out.
What was the impact of the situation you faced on yourself? In your life?
Well my life… putting it in my own uneducated way, because I’m not educated… Me, who used to be happy and proud and stuff, no longer care about those things. I mean, if I dressed up decently or tried to treat my wife and children well and with decency… Now I don’t care how I dress, what’s good and what’s not, what fits my position, nothing matters to me anymore. That’s how I feel now. Later, when I’m no longer an immigrant and understand what I want from my time and job and life, when I’m living and working for myself, not just a little bit, I make money, I’m the master of my life, I can tell how much I should spend. Now I’m in a position that I feel like it’s not fine for me. Someone else tells me to eat, nothing is certain, I mean in life, not for my wife, not for my children and not for myself.

Did you ever imagine going through the hardships you faced on your way, to control and cope with them?
No, I never imagined being able to control [the situation]. I used to think that even if something small happened to me I wouldn’t be able to handle it. Yet I somehow managed, I don’t know how but I managed.
Please drink your tea, your throat must be dry. How could you cope with these events and put them behind? I’m sure the bad things that have happened to you have left you with bad memories. How could you cope with those memories or forget them?
Yes, I keep comparing [myself] with other people. Comparing [myself] with people who belong to this country. I see what they can endure. They can’t endure life. I see their poverty, loneliness, I see sick people sometimes. Sometimes on Facebook there is this thing called… It comes to my timeline by itself, I don’t even want to see it, the martyrs or like the journalists that I’ve heard of, within a month or a little bit more, six or seven journalists who were never after… all of them had spent their lives getting education, day to night and night to day. We’re having fun, going here and there, they’ve given up on all the fun and gotten themselves to somewhere. In ten seconds… (incomprehensible) their death said nothing. I had no idea. When I see them and think about the problems that we’ve faced I tell myself that we have at least survived. I always compare myself with those below me. Currently I can’t [compare myself] with those higher than me. In my own country I always compared myself to those who were higher than me.
Have you found a place to help you get a little better mentally and emotionally?
Yes. I’ve found a place. What they say… I understand what they say better myself and it has a little impact. When I see that what I want is to for example work for myself, not to eat for free and receive money for nothing, like right now that the organisation has given us a house… I think that the house we’ve been given by this organisation has a price. I don’t pay for electricity, water, gas or anything else, they still pay us a little amount of money to [let us] support ourselves but it doesn’t do me any good. I get uncomfortable after seeing these things. That’s why I tell myself now that I don’t want to go back to my own country, that I can’t do it, no matter who I am, the only thing left is me. When I can’t the earth… There’s only one principle on earth. Some only have their entitlements left while all human beings are equal. Entitlements are just entitlements. No matter how you look at it. Whether you like it or you got it from your father and ancestors. Even in this country, I think of it as part of the earth. It’s all about humanity and what you do, no matter where you are and in which country. Entitled as a Greek or Iranian or what. To me all of these don’t matter. One should be able to keep their humanity no matter where they are, to keep working and solving their problems depending on the country they reside and their methods and lifeystyle.
Before experiencing all these events that led you to leaving Afghanistan and moving to Iran, what was your dream for the future? Your own future and that of your children. Please start with “my dream was to…”
Could you please repeat again?
What was your dream before experiencing the events that made you decide to leave your country? At that time what kind of dreams, wishes, or goals did you have for your future?
While leaving those moments, those hours, those things….
No. No. Before leaving.
I didn’t get to those places at all.
You mean in your life  you never had any dreams or goals for the future?
Before leaving my country? In my own country?
Yes! That’s right!
Well in my own country I dreamed of… I always used to like to turn one thing into two in my work and life. For example, turn a kilogram of gold into two kilos, turn 3 kilos into 4 kilos. But I’ve only tried to pretty much…
You mean you wanted to develop your business…
Yes, to develop my business. Like selling a car. Buying and selling jewellery. I used to like these ideas more than my job. I wanted my kids to get somewhere. I knew people who helped [others] a lot, they exist now as well. They have a lot of money. A beggar from their names…. (incomprehensible) They say they don’t care. They have a lot of money, not a little bit but a lot of it, but more than spending it for themselves they like to help. More than taking care of themselves they wonder about [the ways] to help [other people] since they wake up in the morning. [They ask themselves] what good deeds they can do. I always thought about them, about how much they are liked by people and the others, that even I don’t get anything like them, that even the doors and walls like them. I always thought about having the money to let my children, I have a daughter and a son and even if I had more I taught them to do the same. Deeds that… I couldn’t do myself. I couldn’t do good deeds but I wanted them to help [others], to progress, keep studying. I didn’t want them to be mere merchants like me. Some might feel hurt after hearing this, I don’t care about them, there’s a lot of deception among merchants. In order to get a commodity they have to make up twenty [lies]. I didn’t want my kids, or the future generation, to do the same thing, I wanted them to progress, to become [good] people, to do good deeds and keep doing them if they could. But I didn’t succeed. I don’t know if I succeed over here, if God is willing.
If God is willing. When you started your journey towards Iran, what were your dreams for the future? What were your goals when your journey had just started and you were on the road.
I wasn’t thinking about anything. I was only thinking of getting myself to a place that could replace my own soil and country, [somewhere that I could] feel at ease. I spent a year and half in Iran, a year and two months. It took me two or three months to reach Turkey. It’s been a year and a half since I’ve entered Greece and started thinking about these things again. I want to say that I had no other thoughts in my head, which country I should aim for, what I have to do, nothing. I only thought about finding a country where my wife and children could be satisfied and happy, study and keep progressing in life. I used to think that since I am a good person, in my opinion, I should tell the state that I’m a good person, I’m not bad. I’m like this and that, I want to solve my own problems. Whenever you found me or my children doing something bad then I accept it. But I didn’t understand what I said… no one cared about what I said or who I was, or what I did or what I wanted to do. [They didn’t care] that I didn’t want to have anything to do with anyone or I wanted my children to progress. Not according to my own country’s customs. I understand that each country has its own customs and according to its own customs and methods, according to its humanity [lifestyle?] I want to… I tell them to… maybe they accept… maybe it’s acceptable. I didn’t understand that when you become an immigrant no one hears you out or cares about who you are. There are a lot of immigrants.
Right. Before leaving your country, when you were in Afghanistan, which abilities did you have that made you think you were better than others? What kind of strength… What was your strength in?
Experience used to be my strength. I used to like to experience [new things] all the time and I’m still the same. Even right now if there’s something necessary, electronics, whatever… (incomprehensible) Sometimes I open things up and try to gain new experience. To see if I can fix them or not.
Then you’re good at taking risks.
I’m sorry?
You’re good at taking risks.
Yes. I take a lot of risks. A lot of them.
Are you still the same?
Still… Sixty percent.
So, is it less?
No. I still take risks but it was more before.
So, it’s less now…
Now…
You still take risks.
I still take risks.
Among the events and hardships that you faced and the difficulties that you went through, which one do you think has made you grow a little, become a little better or gain good traits?
Nothing but humanity. Being [a good] human. I’ve gained these two traits. I don’t know about my wife and children. My children are young and my wife is a woman. Especially in Kandahar, it’s even taboo to ask a lady’s name. For example when I got here… what was your husband called?
Javad.
Javad. Mr Javad called you as his wife. Over there it’s even taboo to introduce someone as your wife. It’s just that bad. It’s the same in all of Afghanistan but particularly in Kandahar. You shouldn’t call their names at all. That’s why I don’t understand [how things have changed for them] but for myself… I realised that neither your clothes nor looks, nor dressing up nor using hair gel… let me give you an example. Treat my own body like a…  In the goldsmith’s bazaar they made a new market. Right next to my shop… the shop next to mine was being sold. My neighbour told me that he was going to sell his shop. Now he’s old and he’s in the Netherlands but he used to be my neighbour. He asked me but I told him that I didn’t buy his shop. He told me again and I said I’d try. I asked the price and he told me this much. He didn’t ask for money or whatever. I got some gold necklaces, chains, precious stones, watches, and tried to buy the place. I felt like the price was within my budget. But right now I understand… The only good thing that’s happened to me is that now I know if I had that much money or if I ever have that much money I’ll never do the same, to get my money so that I can buy that shop. No matter how much I possess, be it here or in my own country or in any other country. Now I know that it’s far from the principles of humanity.
Currently, what are your hopes, dreams or goals for the future? Start your sentence with “I dream of…”.
Well now I’m looking forward to going to another country other than here, if God is willing. Other than Greece. Because in Greece… I understand myself, I know myself, I don’t know about other people… It’s not a bad country. The soil is not bad. Its people are not bad. I learned how to be a human from them. I’ve never been to another country, I saw in Greece that they’re good people, they’re people that for example me… In a sentence they’re humane and hear me out. In Afghanistan for example, even our president doesn’t hear us out, let alone others. (incomprehensible) I understand that I can’t be in this position. In this position I have to do certain things, for example learn to be like my Pakistani neighbour, or other neighbours. I see they behave like they did in my own country Afghanistan or Pakistan. He’s my neighbour. We’re familiar. I took sewing [samples?] to him. I told him that I’m unemployed because we know each other but he closed the door on me. He won’t take me in while his family is there. I see that they only know how to attack others and take everything and keep them to themselves. They lack humanity. Yet, I understand that if I were to stay here, I would have to act like them and only care about my own children. If they don’t let me, I don’t care. However I think about progressing if God is willing to bless me. If anyone did anything for me or [gave me] a house I know that it’s not my paternal house and I can’t do as I like. If I could be a goldsmith, then I’d be a goldsmith and if not, then I won’t do it. I can’t ignore the expenses. I realised no matter what one does, it’s only humanity that matters, even if you’re sweeping the streets. Whatever you do, humanity… In this position it’s ok if that person suggests something. I say you can study in these countries. After learning you’ll realise how to advance humanity, not like [how it used to be] in Afghanistan, Pakistan and even Iran where you have to use force, or get work through mediums or your family members. But in these countries power and mediums [don’t matter] only humanity and education [matters].
Thank you for answering our questions. There are no more questions but if there’s anything you have to add to let Europeans understand the situation of immigrants in Greece please do so.
For people to understand…

For the people in Europe…
Right! People in Europe! Yes! I have a lot to say. As I said they have to find individuals… They’re educated. Someone who’s educated becomes like a psychologist. Even if they don’t understand psychology they still understand on what level one speaks and what… what one has done or what one can do. They should look for people while keeping us in mind (?). I’m not at ease and it really bothers me that the Europeans, regardless of country, don’t take everyone. I think by myself that some are racist [regardless of their country of origin?] be it from Iran or Pakistan or Afghanistan. Because they couldn’t [do some things?] in their own countries. Now that in European countries they’ve received time and care they abuse it and wear unbecoming clothes or do bad things because they receive money without having done any work. If you look at their behaviour it’s all wrong, if you look at the way they act it’s not becoming of a decent human being. That person won’t be at ease, like us, like some others. Their thoughts won’t be as good… They don’t understand that all flags and soils and countries have to be equal to them… only like… Being good to them, being better to them. [They don’t care] that all places have to be equal to them, that [they shouldn’t tell themselves] if it’s my country then I’ll do good and if it’s not then I won’t. Good people only want to be good to a country they’re working and living in. I wonder why the Europeans can’t differentiate. They can’t tell the differences. I’m not educated, I’ve only studied until second or third grade, but I’ve studied well and I realise people are different from each other. We’re neighbours, from the same country, the same soil, this person is worth it, this person isn’t worth it. I’m not saying they should treat them badly, they can treat them well and humanely. It doesn’t matter, [it doesn’t mean that] if I don’t like a person then I have to hit them, no. All animals are equal. All human beings are equal. If they want to treat them equally they have to find [the right] person. If someone like me… is stressed… It was good until the island. It was even fine on the island despite being hard and I was happy. I mean the island is not a good place. No one is saying that. That’s why I realised they can’t differentiate good people from bad ones. Because there are good and bad people among them. When they’re differentiated… to me… it occurs to me a lot that in a house parents can differentiate good from bad. In a jungle one can tell good and bad animals apart. Wild animals and… But I don’t know why Europeans can’t tell the difference. Whether on the path or in places, or between temperaments or natures. They try to treat everyone equally and it’s not a good treatment. Good treatment means thinking about others while one thinks of oneself. They only see a fraction of good people, while the majority are good and only a minority is bad. Only a minority is bad and doesn’t acknowledge that they should value other people’s soil and country or behave according to the customs of those who have let them inside their soil and house and not act as if the place belongs to their father. But they don’t think that way. They see the majority of us like that minority. In the end even those who were good like me will be hurt. That’s what I have in mind. If a European is good to me even once, be it in my house or on the road, I keep thinking about finding a way to pay them back. And by being nice I don’t mean receiving money. Maybe they’ve treated us humanely, given us a place to stay, found us a place on a bus, shown us a way out of a problem. That’s what matters to me. To me, personally. That’s what I think about wherever I go. That it was so nice, it felt so good, this is great, that’s wonderful. When they don’t treat me well I think again. I think a lot. That Europeans are good people and well educated but they haven’t faced any difficulties in their own countries. Obviously all countries have gone through war at a certain time. Even me with my little education can’t think of a country that hasn’t been through war. But since their issues occurred earlier it’s now over. In my own country I recall well… maybe I was seven or eight. I remember my grandfather listening to the radio every night and telling us what was happening. I don’t remember anything good happening since then, I know my children won’t see it either. I understand it’ll never get better. Those who solved their issues sooner are now in a good situation. Good for their people. When they’re active they should think about immigrants as well. They can’t treat everyone the same. They can’t heed their opinions and make them worse than what they used to be (incomprehensible). They should get better. They should try to think of others as well. Whether on the island, inside the camp or in the city, I could see that Europeans don’t care about the majority and only care about a minority. Yes, a minority. I’m not saying that they don’t like immigrants. If they didn’t like them, they didn’t let them in. If they didn’t like them, they didn’t support them to the best of their abilities. They like immigrants and treat them well. May their house be blessed. They gave us a place. One can’t let a stranger inside their home for more than a day or two. Even having your siblings over for ten days will be suffocating. The only thing that bothers me is that they can’t tell people apart. They should consider the difference. They should find the differences. I have nothing more to say. Thank you again.
Right. Thank you.