Tariq’s story
Yesterday I was helping out with English classes at a distribution when I got talking to a young Afghan refugee. He was about 18, the same as me, and we were getting along well when I somehow managed to get a little cut on my finger. The boy, who I’ll call Tariq, suddenly disappeared, only to reappear a few moments later with a sticking plaster. It was such a moving thing to do – he had been through so much, but he could still notice and help with my little problem. I have only been in Calais for a week …
The photography of former refugee Abdul Saboor
I left Afghanistan because they shot me. Not once, but three times. I don’t know who shot me or why, they were too far away to see. Afghanistan is a dangerous country – people do not follow rules, they do what they like. The first time I was shot, it was was in my arm, and I treated the wound myself. The next time it was my leg, and the doctors wanted me to stay in hospital, but I wouldn’t stay. The last time was in my back, and that was bad; I stayed in the hospital for 10 days …
The trauma of Afghan children
Some of the little Afghan girls and boys I see at our distributions seem so sad it’s unbearable. They’re so quiet and withdrawn, and while some just want to be with their mums, others seem quite detached from everything. At our last distribution, a little boy of about six came along with his mum, but then just found a child’s chair, sat down facing the wall, and stayed like that. He didn’t want to move, or talk, or interact with the other children at all. We tried very gently to encourage him to join in the playing, but he …
The anxiety of an Afghan refugee
“It’s my family I am frightened for now. On the phone, my father told me the Taliban had been for him. They came into his home, they tied his hands and put a bag over his head, they took him away to question him about me. They brought him back, but when they don’t find me they will take him again. “He and my mother now move from house to house, hiding. It is the same for my brother. I don’t know what to do. I am sorry… ” As Abdul, a young Afghan father in his early thirties told …