Migration Crisis - The illegal journey of a migrant towards Europe



She is sitting high up on a gentle comfy bed with casual yet stylish clothes surrounded by books, a table and computer with a relaxed posture and a smiley expression drawn on her face. It’s a total contrast from just a year ago when she was tolerating starvation, thirst and, the cold. Aisha Sharifi, afghan, was one of one million illegal migrants who came to Europe in 2015 to seek safety. The migration crisis became one of the top stories since 2015. “I regretted it so much because I saw the risk of death every situation”, she said, concerning the daunting experience.

Aisha left her beloved Afghanistan, as she was receiving threats and travelled to Pakistan, feeling anxious as it was travelling illegally. Once Aisha entered Iran her and her family got divided up into two cars and only Aisha’s car got stopped by the Iranian police. Her heart was beating rapidly. “When the Iranian police caught us I cried because they were permitted to shoot us", she recalled, calmly. She was taken into custody for three days. After paying off the Iranian police, Aisha was safely released and her nightmare continued getting worse. Her cousin also accompanied her on the trip. “It is a mistake to come through this way. But if one really need to they accept the greater risk of death with the very little chance of getting to Europe”, she said.

Aisha reached the border of Iran and Turkey at night, tired and hungry. She came across the mountains which she had to cross to get to Turkey. Reportedly two people died here of dehydration hoping to reach safety. Every step she took her feet trembled as you could just about put one foot after the other. Therefore, the chance of falling off was significant.  Witnessing 4 or 5 dead bodies lying on the mountains added to her fear. “I cried a lot when we were walking on the big mountains”, she said.

After surviving the mountains, she finally reached Turkey. Her next journey involved crossing the Aegean Sea to get to Greece. Reportedly over 800 died in the Aegean crossing from Turkey to Greece. When Aisha sat on the puffy boat her heart began racing rapidly again with a tensed expression drawn on her face as the boat was small and there was a lot of people. They all mostly feared that the boat could possibly sink or stop, chanting their prayers silently and holding their loved ones close. Unfortunately, their doubt did soon become a reality when the boat suddenly stopped in the middle of the sea. “We thought we would drown”, said Aisha.

They sought help from the police boat despite the fact that they would get arrested for 2 months as their travel was still considered illegal. “We thought rather than dying it’s better that they save us”, said Aisha. Miraculously, though, the boat started to function again as other passengers tried to fix the machine and they continued on. “We were very close to getting rescued by the police. If the machine would’ve have not started up the situation would have been much worse”, recalled Aisha. When Aisha arrived at the Island of Greece she sought asylum and stayed in a camp. Then another boat took her to the capital of Greece.

From then on she moved from country to country taking the Train and Bus until she eventually reached Germany. Her uncle was amazed that she made it to Germany. “At first I could not believe that she made it to Germany, safe and sound. The approach she took to get here was truly courageous”, he said. Now when Aisha reflects back on her journey she still feels down. “Now when I recall those moments I get upset as I faced a lot of hardship. But then again I feel extremely elated too as I have been given a chance to live a safe life in Germany”, said Aisha.
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