July 2013. I am in Lesvos Island together with 60 activists from all around the world. We are all assembled there in order to participate to Amnesty International’s 2nd Human Rights Camping related to migrants’, refugees’ and asylum seekers’ rights. With public actions on the island, we demand an immediate end of the push-backs committed by the Greek authorities in the maritime border.

Lesvos was not a random choice. It is situated in the Aegean Sea, 7 miles away from the Turkish coast. Since the construction of a 10.5 km fence covering the north part of the Greek-Turkish land border (Evros) and the increasing number of national police guards, the arrival of migrants by the sea is rising steadily. Collective expulsions and violations of the non-refoulement principle, not only deprive migrants of their right to seek asylum, but put their lives in danger. Thousands of people lost their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea, in order to arrive in a European country, where they could acquire the refugee status and would receive international protection.

Among us is K., an activist and recognized refugee in Greece.  Few people are gathered around a table to hear K’s adventures since he passed the Greek border. He was arrested in Istanbul on 2007, on his way to leave the country and arrive to Armenia. He was detained in Turkey for eight months, without being able to seek asylum, when he finally arrived to get in contact with the UNHCR. On 2008, he was recognized as a refugee by the UNHCR at first instance. USA accepted to be the host country for his resettlement and his appointment with the USA embassy was scheduled on April 2008. In the meanwhile, he was receiving threats from the Turkish secret police, which finally led him to flee the country in order to save his life, missing thereby his appointment with the embassy. He walked from Turkey to Greece and when he crossed the border, he got arrested by the Greek authorities. He showed his UNHCR papers, but the police did not believe him. The date shown on the papers was written in the American way: month/day. Unlikely for him the day was the 13th and the police immediately believed that his papers were false, as a year has only 12 months! He was detained for three months under horrible conditions. He found himself in a 10 m2 cell, along with other people and with no access to the sunlight.

“It was a nightmare. I didn’t know when I was going to be released, we didn’t have hot water and the police was very brutal towards us. One of my inmates was addicted to drugs. The police beat him because he had a crisis. I shouted at them and suddenly all the detainers started shouting and making noise. I asked the officer to let me see him, just to be sure that he is still alive. I was so scared, that I gave my name and the UNHCR phone number to a friend. The moment I crossed the door, they started beating me very violently”.

K. had his first instance interview for acquiring the refugee status in the presence of a lawyer, chosen for him by the police and in Arabic language, although his mother tongue is Persian.

“I was trying to explain my situation in English, but the funny thing was that the police officer was not speaking English very well. My case was rejected and my psychological state was not good. Every day, they were threatening me that I would be deported, sent back to Iran. I started a hunger strike. The officer was giving my meal to other inmates so that no one would know that I was on a hunger strike. I demanded them to stop. I committed suicide by cutting my veins. It was the only way. Either I would be released or I would die. After three months of detention I got finally released. I got in contact with the Greek Council for Refugees, which helped me appeal on the rejection. I acquired the refugee status last year, almost four years after my arrival in Greece”.

The emotional pressure was very high for him, as well as for us, who were just listening to his story. I didn’t want to ask him anything more. Why he left his country, what happened that led him to these cruelties. The days passed and we came a bit closer. While having a drink, I finally asked him the reason he had to leave Iran. He is a conscientious objector refugee that refused to lift a gun during his military service, while he was a strong criticizer of Islam and the theocratic state of Iran. Naively, I asked him about his family reaction, because in a similar story I have read, the refugee’s uncle was the one who denounced him to the police.

Yes, I am pretty much sure that my uncle did it as well. When I left Iran, I went to Armenia, I converted to Christianity and then I went back to my country in order to take my family with me”. I stopped him. “K, I know your story. Back in 2010, I read about you”.

August 2010. I am an intern for the Greek section of Amnesty International in Athens, when I see a paper on the desk with the story of a young asylum seeker from Iran. He was expelled from his university because he was publicly against women’s rights violations and Islam. A while later, he entered involuntarily the army, in order to perform the 2 years obligatory military service. When he was asked to use a gun, he refused because he did not want to learn how to kill humans. He was condemned to 6 hours isolation, receiving a lot of threats from the army. He escaped and some weeks later, the army started looking for him in order to arrest him. He left his city, but still the family pressure was so intense that he tried committing suicide. He finally left Iran and went to Armenia where he converted to Christianity. Some months later, he went back to his family because he believed he could convince them to follow his route. The police learnt he was back to the country and they started searching for him. The punishment for refusing Islam is death penalty. In order to save his life, he left Iran and went to Turkey.

July 2013. I couldn’t help my tears from falling.

Everything is fine now”, he said. “I started having hope again. There were days I didn’t want my life. I started sleeping again. You know, since all these adventures I could not sleep more than two hours. Now I can. Not very deeply, but I finally can”.

I now think that he could be considered as a lucky one, since in Greece it is really rare for someone to acquire the refugee status. Since I came back to Athens, I am still thinking of that moment. The moment you realize that a refugee story is a true story. That, by chance, I had the opportunity to meet that person I was thinking of during that summer day, in the office, in the center of Athens.