Rashid, 28

I’m from Mazari Sharif in Afghanistan, I haven’t been able to study because I have 3 brothers and 4 sisters so I had to work help provide for the family. I started working in a shop when I was 12 years old, then I started working as a taxi driver when I was 16 and after I worked as a chef in my brother’s restaurant, which I loved very much.

At the age of 14 the situation in my country was very dangerous because of the Taliban. The national army asked me to join them but as I don’t believe in violence and I refused their offer; then the Taliban asked me to join them as well. I had to leave the country and go to Iran because it wasn’t safe for me or my family anymore. I stayed in Iran for 4 years and I owned my own restaurant, but they never gave me a visa or passport.

One day I heard that Germany was opening the borders and I decided to start my trip to England. I paid 16,000$ to an agency to take me to France and then to England. I spent 5 months traveling by bus, train and walking through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia, Austria and Germany, then I arrived at ‘The Jungle’ in Calaias. I’ve been here for 4 months now, living in a wooden shelter in the mud. My dream is to open a restaurant in London and cook Afghani, Greek, Irani, Turkish and English food for everybody and see them happy.

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