Hamid’s life fell apart after standing up to injustice in Iran

I’ve been working in Calais for four years, but this week I heard one of the saddest stories I’ve been told. Hamid, aged 35, had to leave Iran because he spoke out against the cruel ideology of the regime. This crime can be punishable by death. I’ve met others in a similar position and I am in awe of their bravery.

In the UK social stigma is enough to keep many people quiet; risking death for your beliefs is beyond what we here can imagine. His wife did not approve of the risks that came with his moral stance and left him, taking their eight year old son with her. He has not seen the boy for five years, a source of great pain. On arrival in Europe Hamid claimed asylum in Germany. He was given papers, learnt German, got a job and rebuilt his life.

Then four years later disaster struck. There was a murder in the small town where he had settled. A crime, they happen. But in this case the perpetrator was found to be an immigrant. No connection to Hamid, not even Iranian. But nonetheless an “Immigrant”. A far right group started to make trouble for him. He became so afraid he had to run away. His English is not as good as his German and I don’t understand the whole situation. But it was clear he felt he had no choice. His voice broke when he told me. He started to cry. Having lost his home in Iran and lost his family; having worked to rebuild a life in a foreign land all alone; it was simply too much to lose everything once again. He could not find the strength or the will to go on. Why? He asked.