FAWAD
From: Afghanistan
Age: 18
Living in Denmark for 7 years
Attending school for pedagogy
Fled as an unaccompanied child refugee at age 11
Fawad's story of finding refuge in Denmark is one of sacrifice, courage, strength and hope.
"My dream is to be in a place where I don't have to worry about being sent away. I want to finish my education, find a wife, have a family and have a job working with children so I can help other people."
Fawad’s Past in Afghanistan
As a young child Fawad had a nice life living in Kandahar, Afghanistan with his parents and 2 older sisters. Fawad attended Koran school and was a bright student. As a result, the Taliban wanted to recruit him as a child soldier. The military group said they would pay his family, but his parents refused. Soon after, some Taliban soldiers came to Fawad’s house when he was not home, and they brutally killed his father. His mother was able to flee with her 3 children and risked driving to Pakistan, leaving everything behind.
Fawad’s Journey Alone to Safety
In Pakistan Fawad’s mother paid a smuggler to travel with him away from the Taliban to safety in Europe, but she could not afford for the rest of the family to go. Consequently, at the age of eleven, Fawad traveled alone with only a backpack that his mother packed with some food and water. He remembers traveling in a group with smugglers from Pakistan to Iran, and then walking across the mountains to Turkey and taking an overcrowded boat across the sea to Greece and onto Italy. From there he went by train through France and Germany and finally ended in Denmark. It was a long, dangerous journey, and Fawad felt scared and alone, but he didn’t have a choice. At the Copenhagen central train station, the smuggler told Fawad he would use the bathroom, and he never came back. After waiting for a long time, Fawad realized he had been left on his own. Thankfully he heard some people speaking an Afghani language, so he went to them and asked for help. They took him to the Red Cross where he was asked many questions and then sent to an asylum center in Gribskov for one month. Fawad cannot remember many details from that time because he was so sad and lonely. What he knows is that he was granted asylum and lived in a state group home for boys for a few years before transferring to his current home with other unaccompanied refugees at the Morelhuset in Græsted.
Fawad thinks his mom and sisters may be living in Iran now, but he has not had contact with them for over a year because they do not have a phone or computer. The family reunification program has recently changed in Denmark, making it nearly impossible for Fawad’s family to join him here. They also do not have the money to afford paying smugglers to bring them to Europe, and it’s very difficult to travel now as many of the borders are shut down.
Growing Up in Denmark
When Fawad arrived in Denmark, he went directly to the normal Danish school where he learned the Danish language. He has completed Danish school and is currently training to become a pedagogue so that he can take care of young children, “I am glad to talk about children’s problems and to help them.” If Fawad was still living in Afghanistan he does not think he would have the same career, “People have more choices here. You don’t have many choices in Afghanistan.” Some of his friends here said he should have chosen to be more of a labor man in case the Danish government sends him back to Afghanistan so that he would have a skill. Taking care of children is not considered a skill in Afghanistan, so he could not have that occupation there. However, Fawad says, “I am living here now. Now is now. We as humans need to have a plan. If we don’t have a plan there is no meaning to it. Without a plan we cannot create a goal, and we need to live with a goal.”
A Typical Teenager’s Day
In Fawad’s typical day, he wakes up at early at 6:30am, has coffee, goes to school by bus and train, goes to the gym, comes home to eat and likes to hang out with his friends. He is a typical teenage young man who likes to play a FIFA video game, play hygge football and go to clubs and the beach with his friends on the weekends. Fawad is also an avid football fan and his favorite teams are Brøndby in Denmark and Real Madrid (Ronaldo is his favorite player, even though he no longer plays for Madrid).
Fawad’s Fears About His Future
Currently, Fawad lives with a lot of stress and fear because he has no permanent permit to stay in Denmark, “I don’t know my future. Maybe tomorrow the government will say, ‘You cannot stay here anymore. We don’t need you here. You have to go back to Afghanistan.’ Of course, I am afraid.” Very few people get permanent asylum in Denmark. The Danish government has changed a lot of the rules the past few years and it just keeps getting harder and harder for refugees to live here. Although the Danish government has stated in public that Afghanistan is safe, and they have already sent some people back, Fawad does not believe Afghanistan would be safe for him. The Taliban, who killed his father and wanted to recruit him, are still active in his area, and he has no family left there. Fawad says, “I live in Denmark, I go to school, I go to the club, I have my friends, I feel that I should have the same rights, but because of the state and what is going on right now, it’s hard to feel Danish when I don’t feel welcome. I feel accepted by my Danish friends, and I have many ties, but I do not feel accepted by the state.” This insecurity is playing a big role in his life right now, “I am not feeling safe here; I am safe today but not tomorrow.”
Fawad’s Dreams
When asked if it is hard to dream about his future given the uncertainty he has for tomorrow, Fawad said, “My dream is to be in a place where there is no danger. My dream is not to have to worry.” If the Fawad was granted permanent residency in Denmark, then his dream is, “to finish my education, find a wife, have a family and help other people. I like living in Denmark because it’s quiet and relaxed. I watch the children walking home from school, and they have no worries. There is no war. It makes me happy to live in such a safe place.”
Of course, Fawad still misses his mother and sisters. Telling his story is difficult for him. When he starts to feel lonely or sad, he says, “I need to look ahead. It does not help to cry. I need to dream and go after my dreams. I can’t think too much about my past if I want to go forward. I need to fight for my dream. If I don’t fight, then I get nowhere. It doesn’t come by itself.”
Fawad clearly appreciates the enormous sacrifices his parents have made so that he can grow up to be free and have opportunities. This inspirational young man is working courageously to follow his dreams, as well as the hopes of his family.
To read Fawad's story on the UNHCR Northern European website click here: https://www.unhcr.org/neu/33453-second-chances-fawads-story.html
