Refugees talk of survival and longing for peace

by Samantha Ryder

It’s a bright morning in Vienna but there is a winter chill in the air. As I walk through the Wien Hauptbahnhof, the city’s main railway station, there’s plenty going on. The building is currently under reconstruction but work has been put on hold and the area has been made, temporarily, into a refugee camp.

There’s a food court, legal advice, translators, maps and information, clothing distribution and a vital mobile phone charging area that is never empty.

Image Courtesy of Nadja Hudovernik

Children are running around playing hide and seek or tag. Others are playing with some of the toys donated by the people of Vienna. Few of them understand their new surroundings and why they are there.

It’s difficult to believe that most have been travelling for weeks carrying only the clothes they left with. Their journey was a mix of planes, trains, automobiles, boats and much walking with added drama along the way.

On this morning, I sit with a group of men who have just finished breakfast – bread and salad with water to drink and they are thankful. They had only just arrived in Vienna.

28-year-old Izatullah Yasini (pictured right) left Herat, Afghanistan’s second largest city, a month ago. His wife and two children are still there. “I feared for my life,??? he tells me. He says he couldn’t leave the house without fear of being killed by ‘the mafia’. During our conversation, he kept referring to ‘the mafia’. I later learned it is in reference to ‘the enemy’, or anyone they fear. He says the situation in Afghanistan is getting worse. “The country is dangerous,??? says Izatullah, “and the economy is in a bad way, collapsing.??? But is he afraid for his family back in Afghanistan? “Of course,??? he says. “I need to reach my destination soon so I can bring them from Afghanistan to be with me.??? He tells me his destination isn’t important, “I will live anywhere,??? he says. All he wants is the opportunity to start again, make a life for himself and his family and “live in peace, without fear.???

Izatullah spent 3000 Euros getting to Vienna – I ask him what his plans are. “Reach the German border,??? he tells me, “Passau,??? the city thousands of refugees have arrived at before being transferred onto trains and directed to other cities across the continent.

Image Courtesy of Nadja Hudovernik

“I’m waiting for the free train,??? he says. Some organisations in Vienna have been able to help those without money purchase train tickets for the next stage of their journey. “I have no money left,??? he tells me.

He spent it all along the way.

His journey had taken him through Iran, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary and into Austria. While crossing from Turkey to Greece, the boat he was in capsized. Some had life jackets, most didn’t. “He’s a hero,??? his friends tell me. “He saved two children from drowning.??? Yasini, who had apparently dived into the water to save the children, brushes off his heroic feat with a shrug of his shoulders. “Yes of course,??? he says. “But anyone is going to jump in right? They were in trouble, they are children.??? “They were so afraid before they even got in the boat,??? he says, “but they had to if they were going to make it to Europe.

Seventeen-year-old Aryhan Safha (pictured second left) also made the journey from Afghanistan. His father was killed by ‘the mafia’ when he was younger. His mother is still in Afghanistan but his uncle is in Germany. Aryhan tells me that is his destination. Being a little younger, and with no wife or children to consider back home, Aryhan is a little more relaxed about the situation. “I love football,??? he says “Christiano Ronaldo.???

As he crouches on the floor, surrounded by the empty plates from breakfast, he tells me about his journey from Afghanistan. Aryhan is from Kunduz in the north of the country. “There was no life for me there,??? he says. “If I’m walking down the street, who is behind me???? He says this while looking over his shoulder and although he was demonstrating, I couldn’t help but feel his unease, even in the safety of Vienna. Then he looked at me, “who is going to shoot me in the back???? he says.

So many hundreds of thousands of people have fled their own countries for all manner of reasons. However I couldn’t help but ask whether it might have been better to stay there, knowing this journey was going to test even the strongest of people, physically and mentally. “No,??? he says without even the slightest hesitation.

Safha is waiting for his uncle to send him money so he can buy a train ticket to take him to the German border. I ask him what he wants to do when he gets to Germany. He says he wants to go to school to become an engineer. But if he doesn’t receive the money from his uncle, where will he stay, what will he do? “I don’t know,??? he says, “sleep on the side (of the road)???? It’s not the first time he has faced uncertainty and I’m sure it won’t be the last. He has no bag, no belongings, and now no money, just the clothes and shoes he left Kunduz in.

Image Courtesy of Nadja Hudovernik

Yasini and Safha are just a fraction of the hundreds of thousands who have made the long and arduous journey this year to reach northern Europe.

Looking around as I leave the group, though feeling relief in the fact that they have made it this far, I see sadness on the faces of many of the adults about the uncertainty that lies ahead, the continuing struggle to find safety for themselves and their families – to find peace.