I am Ahmad, Palestinian born in Syria. I am 22 years old and I was living in Hamma. Me and my mum went from Syria to Turkey in March 2016. At first, we went to Idlib illegal. From there to Istanbul and then to Izmir where we met the smuggler and travelled by boat to Mitilini.
We were granted documents the day we arrived, we left for Athens and then to Idomeni borders. We stayed there for two months but then the borders closed. As my mother is old, we could not continue the journey so we went to Thessaloniki and we stayed in a hotel for a couple of days. We found a smuggler who gave us fake passports so we could travel by plane.
The day before the flight, me and the smuggler went to the airport to see the place. My mother stayed at the hotel. There, the police arrested me because they thought I was a smuggler too. I was imprisoned for a year and a half until the case was taken to court. The time I stayed in prison, I was able to learn Greek in the prison’s school. I went to court and as I have been acquitted, I came to Skaramagas camp. It has been a month now (January 2018). While I was in prison, my mother went to Germany where my brother stays. I just want to go to Germany to find my family.
Storyteller’s name: Ahmad
Interviewer’s name: Anxhela Dani
Country of origin: Syria
Sex: M
Age: 22