Ahmad Azizi, Amis Gol Rahmani and their children Sama and Sadra - Afghanistan 

“I am not sure I can answer to the question how our lives would change within the next months. We are going to a new place, a new country with new opportunities under unique conditions. Our will is our children to be safe and go to school. We want them to learn how to read and write and start gradually building our future together” says Ahmad Azizi from Afghanistan, few hours before departing from Greece to Germany under EU – Relocation project. 

Ahmad Azizi (29) with his wife Amis Gol Rahmani and their two children Sama (9) and Sadra who is now seven months old came to Greece sixteen months ago after fleeing Herat city in Afghanistan. They spend three years in Iraq and three months in Turkey before reaching Lesvos island. 

“We need safety and stability in our lives” he says. “One of the reasons we want our children to learn how to read and write is that we did not manage to finish school back in Afghanistan. I was very young when I started working as a constructor, then as a worker, then as a farmer, then as a constructor again” he admits. 

Ahmad stayed with his family in Lesvos island for 9 months and the last two of them in Kara Tepe facility. Their little son, Sadra, was born in Lesvos. 

“When the fire started, we have already been transferred in Kara Tepe facility. Even though we were not in Moria, we were really afraid that the same thing will happen to us as well. Some of our friends were inside Moria and we were not able to reach them while the camp was burning. We were worried. They managed to call us the next day. They were scared and crying on the phone. They new that the next day would find them with no place to stay” says Ahmad. 

Ahmad and his family were informed that they will participate in Relocation project at the beginning of October. 

“These were really good news for us. After five years of instability and insecurity, a silver line was ahead of us. I managed to sleep at night after a long time. I was watching my children lying on bed and I was able to make positive thoughts about our future. I want to work and be productive again. We will manage it, step by step”, says Ahmad with a smile on his face.  

Ahmad, Amis Gol, Sama and little Sadra were relocated in Germany in October, as asylum seekers under the EU-funded Relocation project. (Updated numbers prior to publication) 

The Relocation programme is funded by the European Commission (DG HOME), it is led by the Government of Greece, through the Special Secretary for Unaccompanied Minors and the Special Secretary or Migration Policy with participating EU member states and is coordinated by the European Commission. IOM is working closely with UN partners, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to support all aspects of the relocation process in close cooperation with the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and other partners.