Aylan Kurdi had to die to wake us up. Here’s a Syrian telling you what it takes to live a good life

Image courtesy: theglobeandmail.com
Swati Snigdha Suar Swati Snigdha Suar folomojo staff

Aylan Kurdi, the little Syrian boy dead and washed ashore, did something which millions of his fellow country people could never do before while on their attempt to sail their rickety dinghies across Aegean Sea till the Greek island of Kos. He shook the world to its senses.

Until the photo of this 3-year-old lying dead on a beach cropped up and started trending on Twitter under the hashtag #KiyiyaVuranInsanlik (humanity washed ashore), probably we were still lost in knowing more about the mystery behind Damascus steel than the repercussions of Syrian crisis!

The toddler was living with his family in Kobani, a city along the border with Turkey that has been bearing the brunt of ISIS and Kurdish fighters. Aylan was part of a group of 23 who set off on the Aegean journey on their ‘unseaworthy’ rubber dinghy to reach the West. At least 12 of them were drowned. It shows the extraordinary risks Syrian refugees are taking in the hope of living a good life. The years-long civil war has made nearly 4 million people flee the country. Hundreds of thousands of refugees headed for Europe this summer, most crossing the Mediterranean in shoddy boats. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates around 2500 people have died this summer while trying to make the crossing. So, Aylan is certainly not alone in this fateful journey.

While we are still gazing at a lifeless Aylan’s photos, here’s a Syrian who tells you his story of passing through seven countries to finally see the light. This facebook post shared by Vikram Kewalramani—who met the Syrian in a train— has a Syrian’s ordeal in detail:

On Thursday, I was traveling in a night train from Prague to Berlin. There were very few people along the journey. People were getting on and off at various places which ultimately left me and another traveler as the only occupants of this coach.

I was actively managing my battery for my phone as I had an e-ticket. Conductors kept coming in at various places so I had to make sure I had enough ‘juice’. Unlike my train into Prague, this one had zero plug spots. Ultimately, I found one inside the bathroom so I had go in occasionally to refuel. I didn’t have internet connectivity and was quite tired from all the walking over the past few days in Berlin and Prague so wasn’t really interested in idling away time on my phone.

Even for a self confessed introvert who actively enjoys the occasional solitude, this period of inactivity was getting to me. I walked over to the other traveler to strike up a conversation.

He was from Syria. He didn’t look anything like a stereotypical Syrian. Disheveled, with a hipster type beard and a backpack in tow, he could pass off as any of the low budget travellers one meets all across Europe.

I mentioned to him about the toddler’s photo and how it has affected the world’s focus towards the crisis. He smiled and said, you’ve just read about it. I’ve experienced it. I was in a similar experience just like thousands of other Syrians. It was all real and extremely frightening. He showed me his phone and it was filled with photos and videos. Of him and others on a boat, which was more like a rubber dinghy. Scrolled to another one with a selfie inside the water.

We got talking. Him doing the talking, and me listening, occasionally nodding. He spoke excellent English with an indiscernible accent. He had been walking for 7 days. 7 days! Across Europe. Passed through 7 countries – Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Austria, Hungary, Czech and Germany. His story starts in Dubai. He worked for the iPhone store as a tech assistant. He was there for 11 years. Last year, the authorities in Dubai did not renew his papers as he was Syrian and so he was forced back to go to Damascus.

He had lost 2 brothers to the conflict. Another was still employed in the Syrian army. He was able to move his parents to Jordan. It didnt matter which side you were on. As a civilian, there was general destruction and you were caught in the crossfire. He had to move and so he took the ultimate gamble just like many other Syrians and fled to Turkey.

He was accompanied by four other male cousins. Their strategy was to get to Europe, apply for asylum and then get the families into Europe. From Turkey, he got on to the rubber dinghy. They used it to get from Turkey to Greece. As evidenced through his videos, the dinghy is no match for the waves in the open seas. They were at the mercy of the waves and had very little control on its path. Much like their life. They were in the water for 14 hours and their goal was to get into the Greek nautical territory. If they were caught by the Turks, it would be a wasted effort. The videos showed them occasionally inside the water. There were women with kids in the boat. Children who should be in school or playing in a park or cajoling their parents into telling them stories with a horse and a cow named CoCo and Maggie.

Their dinghy was finally intercepted by the Greek Coast guard. Prior to that, the video showed them actively flailing inside the water and using their whistles to attract the authorities attention. They had made progress. They were in Europe.

They went through a bunch of Greek islands. He made it a point to mention how beautiful Greece is and how I should go there at some point. We chuckled.

From Greece, he got into contiguous Europe along with his cousins and then they started walking. From one country to another. He showed me the map within his Photos app on the iPhone. He had taken photos and videos everywhere.

Soldiers, people across Europe were generally helpful to them. Soldiers offered them water, food and shelter. It was like an ant trail. There are thousands making the journey. Men, women and kids. He met someone with a 10 day old child. He couldn’t understand how they decided to make the trip with such a small child. Maybe, the odds of survival in Syria are even lower than what they’d experience in this journey. They walked days and night with an occasional rest.

He was really scared when they reached Hungary. The threat to their life was real. They had heard of the mafia there who were looting these travellers. Humans profiting from those who had nothing. Also, the authorities were not sympathetic to their cause [as we’ve read in the papers]. They had to abandon their foot travels and get on a taxi. A seat on the taxi to ferry them from Hungary to Austria cost them 600 euros. There was risk to the taxi driver as he would’ve been jailed too if they were caught by the Hungarian police.

Somehow they made it to Austria. From there he went to Czech republic and spent a couple of days with a friend. All along, he maintained contact with the world by using different SIM cards. His cousins and the rest of the party had moved on and made it to Germany and Denmark. His goal was to make it to Sweden wherein they provided them a passport if granted asylum.

However, that wasn’t to be. As he walked through Germany, he was caught by the police. The police were extremely nice. He was expecting the worst – but they treated him very well. They asked – would you like something – food, water? Are you scared? He said, I was scared. Now I am not. I know I am safe in this police station. He told them that while they work on his papers, he would nap as he was tired.

They finished his paperwork. They swapped his Syrian passport for papers that would start the process of asylum. He needed to go to Berlin to present them and so was on his way.

He was disappointed. So close. His cousins had made it to Scandinavia. He laughed when he mentioned that a conversation with his mom a couple of days earlier had her remarking that he should look to stay in Germany. He felt that maybe it was her will that got him caught.

His plans were to restart his education and learn German. Germany requires people to have basic knowledge of the language in order to grant a passport. He could speak English, Arabic, Russian and Italian. The German police asked him how come he didnt speak German and all these languages. He laughed and said – no one taught me. Now I will have to learn it.

He was going to contact Apple and get back to the Store to join tech support. He needed to find a way to get his degrees as the physical copies were all mutilated in the journey.

He expressed great admiration for Europe and how they had opened their arms for the Syrians. At the same time, he said there was zero support in the Middle East. There were so many countries with infinite resources but had closed their borders. This wasn’t the case when there was conflict in Lebanon and Iraq. Syria had opened their borders to accept refugees from them. Europe believed in humanity and provided all kinds of support. He was grateful.

I didn’t know what to say after this monologue. What could I say? We kept quiet for a bit and then got talking again. And then a period of silence. He saw the Fitbit on my hand and said that I should get the one that monitors the heart rate. That one is better. I said yes, I’ve had this one for a while and it does the job. I told him you should have worn one through your travels and countred your steps. We both laughed.

We were getting close to Berlin-Lichtenberg. I asked him if there was anything I could do. I offered him money. He said thanks and respectfully declined. I offered him again. Same response. We kept quiet. And I tried again. He said no, thank you. He has enough.

It was midnight. We got to Berlin-Lichtenberg. He had to get to Berlin Spandau for a train at 4am. I was making my way to Alexanderplatz to spend the night before my flight in the morning. He was planning to spend the night here but I convinced him to go to Spandau. We both got on to the S-bahn together. I tried offering him again. He declined.

We were a station away from Alexanderplatz. I was getting ready to leave. I hugged him and said – the hard part is over. Life will be easy compared to what you’ve gone through. I gave him my email address and requested him to ping me anytime if he needed help. We hugged again. He wished me a safe flight.

This was a surreal and eye opening experience. We are all so lucky. We have access to food, shelter and a safe environment. The rest is details. Take the time to acknowledge it and hug your loved ones a little tighter tonight.

If you can, open your wallets a tad bit and help those who really need it.http://www.pri.org/…/5-groups-doing-important-work-help-ref…
Vote for a government that does the right thing. There are elections in Canada in October and in the US next year. Other countries will have their day at the ballot soon. Let’s not be bystanders.

While Germany has now taken up moral leadership on the refugee crisis with extending asylum to around 800,000 people this year, the United States, has given shelter to 1434 refugees—19 times that many people went to Taylor Swift’s recent concert in Omaha– over the four years since the conflict began. This shows how US, like much of Europe, has been addressing such a burning issue. While very few happen to be as lucky as this Syrian, the rest follow the fate of poor Aylan! This gives a wake-up call to the world that is sleeping.

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