Ali Kabiri

full interview

I explained the project to you. If you do not understand somewhere, ask me again. Can you introduce yourself?
I am Ali Kabiri.

How old are you?
I’m 26 years old.

Where do you live now? What kind of house are you?
In the camp.

Which camp?
Soson.

Can you explain the conditions? Camp conditions. Where you live.
We are in the hall. Inside, there is a large yard. Because we are confirmed. It’s in a big hall, a tent.

You have a tent.
Yeah.

Who do you live with?
There are a few guys. They are like us. They have come from Moria. There are six or seven families.

How many members of your family are there?
It is for four of us. My son has just been born.

You, your wife and your two children.
Yes.

How do you spend your time? Are you going to work?
No, like I told you my son has a medical problem. I’m involved with his documents and his doctor appointments and … also that my baby was just born. We are occupied with all this.

What makes you happy? Or does it make you enjoy life?
A good and quiet place.

How has your life been since you arrived in Europe? What are the good and bad things for you? What were the difficulties?
Nothing was good. The difficulty was that it was very hard to get here. We were paid for three months and then it stopped. Because we were confirmed. Then we came here. The camp did not accept us either. We went into Victoria Park. They take us from Victoria Park to jail. We were in prison for two nights. There my wife got sick. Then they let us out, just me. I came to Victoria by myself again. We stayed there one night. After two or three nights, the police brought us to Camp Soson. We were inside the hall. Well, the people on the first bus were sent to the hall, then the people from the next two buses that we were in, there was an area outside the yard, there was just a canopy; they sent us there. We were there for about five months. Under the canopy, outside.

Can you explain how life has made you feel?
Life in Greece is very hard. Let me tell you this.

How do you feel?
Here? I do not feel well here. It does not help me in any way. No medicine. Not medicinally. Not financially. Nothing. They do nothing for me. Nothing. They just gave me the acceptance and cut off everything. Financial, medical. Everything.

Have you got your documents yet?
No, I have not received my documents yet, unfortunately.

You are still waiting.
Yes.

Did you ever imagine that you would be in a situation where you could control it?
No.

Do you think that the difficulties you faced have improved your skills and strengths?
Yes.

In what aspect?
In all respects, my experience has increased.

How has Covid 19 affected your life, your emotions and your feelings?
Not emotionally, but it has affected me in other ways, like officially and paperwork.

Can you explain?
My paperwork, for example, fell behind. For the fingerprint, for the police. How can I tell you? You cannot go anywhere. Because I was fined once myself. Almost a few months ago. For my son… There was a pharmacy, it was free. For the drugs he is taking now. I went there. It was almost afternoon when I put on my mask and was fined. I also told the police. He paid no attention. He was just writing the bill.

Now I want to ask about the last part of your life. Why did you leave your country? Can you explain what happened?
Of course because it was unsafe. Everyone knows that Afghanistan is insecure. Because our area was far from the city, because of the facilities and things like that, my sister died there. Because of the facilities and things like that. She got sick; on the way to the city… there was not a car either. And the poor thing died. My sister in law also died there. After that I decided to come to Iran.

You came to Iran.
Yes.

Why did you come to Europe after Iran?
Because of my son. My son’s problem. My son has a mental illness. In Iran they said we could not cure him. He must take medicine for the rest of his life. Then my son…

How old is he?
8 years old. He has not taken his pill several times. He says ‘I don’t want to take my pills anymore.’

How did you feel when you had to leave Iran… when you had your problems in Iran when your son’s doctor lost hope for him?
I did not feel well.

Can you tell me about your trip to Europe and what experiences and difficulties did you have along the way?
Nothing special happened. We moved from Mashhad. We came to Tehran. We came from Tehran to Maku. Maku border. Then we came to Van. Then we came to Istanbul. Then we came to the ChanaqQala. Then in ChanaqQala, with the Iranian smugglers that we had talked to, he stole the money of about twenty-five families that had started the journey together, not together, but a few days apart. He stole all their money.

Your money too?
Yeah. That’s why we had to wait a few months, five months and a half. Because he did not say that from the beginning. He would answer the phone and say: ‘OK; we will move tonight or tomorrow.’ That’s how he delayed us for five and a half months. Then they complained about them in Iran, my parents and the rest of the families. Then, when I talked to another smuggler from ChanaqQala and finally we came here.

Were you able to get that money?
Very little.

How did you feel when you were on the road?
I felt good. I just came for my son.

Didn’t the hardships matter to you?
No no.

Did nothing happen to you on the water from Turkey to Greece?
No, fortunately.

Do you think about those five months that you had to wait in Turkey without money and destiny?
Yeah. It was really hard.

What makes you think of those times?
It’s the same here. It makes no difference. In my opinion, it makes no difference because neither the money nor the place is right; it is no different from Turkey. Turkey is also very good. The place was good, the people were helping. They helped in every way. There was work. You could work. Sometimes. You could manage your life. But not here.

How do you feel when you think about it? During the Journey and all those incidents?
I don’t have any special feelings.

Do you feel good or bad?
Neither good nor bad, just normal…

Its importance is lost.
Of course. There is no other choice.

How has this situation affected you? mentally and psychologically.
I came here for my son to be treated, so he doesn’t have to take medicine; Okay? I have been here for almost a year now. Then in Moria, well, take my son to a neurologist once. We have been here for almost seven or eight months now; the doctor has not seen my son yet, he has visited only once. My son should be checked every three months. Also, during our time in Moria they took him to a specialist, although he was not such a specialist, but, they said he was. Because they didn’t check there, they just went to the doctor. There was no translator when we went there. They did not send any translator with us. The doctor wrote something in translation on the computer and I also said some things that he did not understand. After all, it wasn’t that useful, because of the translation problem. In the two years that we have come from Iran, my son has been visited by a specialist only twice. While he should’ve been checked every three months. 

Did you think you could handle this situation?
 No, I did not think so.

How could you cope with that? With your problems; With the same bad memories that happened to you on the way and the trip? Your son, for example, you see has a problem. How can you cope with it?
Very hard madam. So hard. I cannot.

How do you try to calm yourself down? Find a place that helps psychologically?
No, I did not find a place. Only one time my wife said to go to a psychologist. I said I do not like to go.

Why?
I just do not like to go.

Do you not like talking to a psychologist to calm down a bit?
No, I do not like it. I do not like to talk to people here at all because they are not nice to us. I admit that some immigrants have made mistakes, but that does not mean that all immigrants are bad or do things that aren’t right.

What was your dream for the future before you wanted to leave your home? Start with the phrase, “This was my dream.”
My dream was for my son not to take medicine. Okay? Then he continues his education. Get somewhere. This was my dream. But unfortunately for now…

Is your son not studying now?
Not now, because of quarantine. He went for a while but then the quarantine happened and so he doesn’t go for now.

What was your dream for the future when you left home and started your journey?
My only dream was for my son to be cured. For his education, for his future, these are the only reasons that I came.

Before you leave your home, can you explain what your strengths and abilities were?
How do I tell you? What does it mean?

That is, in what sense did you think it was good; for example, one is said to be very persistent, one is said to be very brave, one is said to be very hardworking, one is smart. What positive thoughts do you think you have that have been useful to the rest of your life?
I was hardworking.

Were you hardworking?
Yes.

Are you still like that?
By God, you don’t know, I am very upset and messed up.

But you are still trying.
Yeah. I’m still trying. I am not disappointed, thank God. I’m still trying to get my son somewhere and be medically treated.

The hardships you faced, on the way, your son, your money were stolen, the condition of Moria, do you think these hardships caused some growth? For your personality, or something inside of you; did they have a positive outcome?
There have been some experiences, but there have also been some disadvantages.

Can you explain how it has improved?
To get better means to gain experience; for example the case with the smuggler, we had talked to him, we knew him, we trusted him. Approximately all of us twenty-five families, twenty-four families had given him about a billion and a half (Tomans). In cash. It was an experience not to do that again. And not not trust the people we do not know. Another good thing was that something happened on the journey again; I learned something. I got to know people better. Because I moved from Mashhad with two or three families at the same time. I got to know them. They were different people in Mashhad. Here, as I saw on the way, they changed a lot. I got to know them better.

What is your dream now, what is your hope for the future? Start with the phrase, “This is my dream.”
My dream is this: that my documents would be ready quickly, and I will do my son’s paperwork and then take him to a good place. The first thing I do is follow up with the doctor; so that he can be treated. And then for his education.

Very good. Thank you. My questions are over. Thank you for answering my questions. Now add a letter yourself if you want. Have something to say to help people better understand the plight of immigrants. Do you have something to say?
I do not know. Immigrants all have a hard time living here. Whether in Moria or here. Moria, whose condition is not very good at all, because I was Moria myself. I was there for five or six months. I was in the forest. I was in the tent. Even the organization, during the first time that we came to the island, all they did for us was that they gave us a tent, a four-person travel tent. They didn’t help us. They paid for three months; they cut our salaries after three months. Although our financial situation was not good; the smuggler has stolen all our money. They did not help us any more. Here, too, when we arrived they said that we should go to Athens. To do the paperwork, from Moria. We came ourselves. Step by step, city to city. We moved, we borrowed. Here, too, the camp didn’t accept us. We had to go to Victoria. In Victoria they took us to jail one night. Then my wife got sick. Then we went and told the police. They didn’t even call for an ambulance. They told us you have to go to the hospital yourself. How could I find the hospital when I had just arrived in Athens? Or how I should talk to them. It was very hard.

Thank you.
You’re welcome.