Please call 112! A Letter from Parwana Amiri from Greece

You have to cross kilometers to reach the shore. You take the life vests from your back pack and give them to your children to wear. You know that they will not rescue them from the angry sea. Yet seeing them on your children’s body, somehow, calms your heart.

More than ever before, fear grips your pounding heart, the terrible fear of losing your children. Yet, you still want to get your children on the boat. You know they may lose their lives in the sea, but even that death in the sea is much better than to dying under the daily blasts of bombs and gunfire.

The boat is ready to move towards the island and, in there, there is you, with your family, with  many others. It is hard to even find a place to sit. Your shelter is the sky and your floor is the boat.

Everybody is crying, your  son is pleading to go back home. You just hug him.

Waves are beating onto the boat. Anxiety grips you. It was you that had to put your children in the boat where death might be waiting. Many of the children around you are at the brink of tears, but their mothers silence them. You avoid looking at the angry sea, trying not to lose your courage, to help your friends and your family feel strong and hopeful.

The waves are getting higher and higher. The emergency lamp in your heart turns on! Everybody is shouting and you just pray the boat moves on further so that no coast guard can arrest you or turn you back. For there is no way back for you.

The weather is cold and the moon seems so sad against the dark sky. The children are counting the stars to pass the time. But the time does not pass, even the seconds becomes long. You keep your eyes upon the island`s lights, in the distance, where you think you can find hope, safety and be granted your right!

It becomes more and more scary as the waves are getting higher and higher. Everyone is shouting.  It has been five hours that you are in the sea and no one knows what can happen to the boat. Its engine sounds bad and everybody`s life is in danger. The boat is out of control and is losing the way. The shore seemed so close, you just want to arrive.

The water is coming into the boat and everybody`s clothes get wet.

Women are crying and men are trying to empty the water from the boat.

There is nothing to empty the water with and they are trying with their shoes.

The waves are getting bigger and bigger and the water keeps pouring in. No way to stop it. Everyone is crying for help. “Does anyone know the emergency number to call?” you ask. But there is no phone on.

-Please hurry up! Turn your phones on!

-We cannot wait more than half hour!

-We are lost!

-Mine is on now, whom should I call? Anyone can tell me whom I should call?

-Please call 112!

Parwana Amiri.

Letters from Refugees to the World No:7

Europe must act!

Congratulations to European committee , European comminicated, European commission , European union and European citizens for your 70^th anniversary of alliance!

But we are not able to celeberate and participate in your jubilation , as your decomposition has left us behind with all difficulties in an unbearable condition alone.

However , we live in the same land as many other European citizens, in one of European union memebers ( Greece ) but we have never thought we will face with such a fate that dignity lose its meaning and the word of freedom become ignore .

12 golden stars in your flag sorrounded our life and prisoned our freedom.

27 members of european country kept silent , however we are calling for help.

Our children are suffering hunger and we are all under an absoloute deprivaation of having peaceful and normal life, access to education and all what a normal citizen can have it.

Dinghy maybe is a noun but we put our lives on that and came here , the ones who lose their lives are just numbers ,that are counted by coast guards and authorities.

When all Europen union members are responsible against a crisis , then why are we alone ?

Why our lives are becoming toys of an economical game?

Not our lives,but locals life should be impacted by unknown politicians games, neither!

We are not the only group of residents  suffering all these problems, we know that locals are also one of the most impacted groups of residents living in the same country , that economy is more important than ,value of humans life and dignity of people.

It doesn´t matter if we live in the roads , under tent , in hotels , constructed buildings, containers or even homes .

Castle is prison , when you don´t have freedom.

When I was at school in our books , freedom was an unseparated part of Europe , that was always togather with it, but what I experience here is totally different than what I learned before.

Freedom is just an adjective for Europe, but not its essance.

In order to achieve a peaceful life , we escaped from our countries and our homes.

But in this way we lost our dignity.

If we are in prisons , If we are in danger , If we are in need , If we are in deprivation

Europe must act!

If we are trapped ,If we are vulnerable ones , If we are forced in silence, If we are treated diffrently Europe must act!

If we are all totally alone , If we are all far away, If we are struggling, If we are asylum seekers Europe must act!

If we are human beings, If we lost our dignity ,I f we lost our respect, If we live like prisoners 

Europe must act !

Europe must as our problems are an unseparated part of Europe.

Europe must act as if we lose our dignity, Europe will either lose it.

Parwana Amiri