“I want to reunite with my children, but what matters to me the most is them to live safe and be free to choose their own life path”

Fatima Haidari, a mother of three, originally from Afghanistan, had a long and difficult life journey. She had to overcome many challenges to finally reach her own happy place; knowing that her children are safe – even though they are miles away from her.

“Now my daughter, 15 years old, and my son 12 years old, are staying in a shelter in Germany, as unaccompanied minors. I live in Malakasa camp, in Greece with my younger son who is 9 years old. I’m trying my best to educate myself and my son through internet, books and classes that are taking place in the camp. I studied hard to get my diploma in English and finally made it. Now, I’m working as an interpreter in Solidarity Now.”

Fatima admits that she faced many difficulties since her early years. “I was a migrant since I was a young girl. I was born in Pakistan from Afghan migrants. I had to move in Iran for my husband and then we moved together to Afghanistan. One year and three months ago, I made a life changing decision for me and my kids, we moved to Greece without telling anyone – not even my husband.”

“Our marriage was decided by our families. When I was 13 years old, they announced me that I had to leave school and get married. I didn’t want to, but this wasn’t something I could avoid,” she recalls.

“My husband and I lived in Iran for quite some time. As migrants we faced many problems. The most important was that our children were out of school. Unfortunately, education wasn’t an option for them. Even though I’m not very well-educated, I tried to teach them at home everything I knew. That was my motivation; to learn more for me and for them.”

“As a child I wanted to be a teacher. I wasn´t given the chance, but it seems to me that I did it my own way for my kids.”

“It was difficult, but I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t want my children to be uneducated. I wanted them to be useful for the society, to find their own path. And education is the only way to do that.”

Her strength and invincible will to shape hers and her children’s life in a free and safe future, made her make the big decision. “I could see that my story would be repeated. My daughter was 14 years old, so my husband and our families thought that it was time for her to get married as well. I couldn’t let that happen. This time, I managed to do something about it. I decided to move to Europe with my children. Even though I knew that it was going to be a difficult and very dangerous route, I wasn’t sure that we were going to make it, I had to take the leap of faith. Not for me, but for them. Without telling anyone we left.”

“I didn’t care having a good or even a better life. I just wanted to support my children. To be educated, to help them find their own selves; to be better people and have options.”

“The very first day me and my son reached Alexandroupolis, in Northern Greece. My daughter and my other son are in Germany.”

“It’s been a long time since the last time I saw them. I’m trying to be helpful for the society in Greece and let the time go by. Of course, I want to reunite with my children, but what matters to me the most is them to live safe and be free to choose their own life path."

Fatima has managed to create her daily routine in Malakasa: “I was looking for a job. IOM staff and Solidarity Now encouraged me to apply for the position. So here I am, working as a translator. I’m very happy that I can be helpful for my community. I feel that I can relate to their stories and support them. In the future I’d like to educate myself more, learn Greek, become a social worker and become even more useful.”

IOM operates in Malakasa camp as the official Site Management Support Agency (SMS) with the support of the European Commission – DG HOME, under the project “Supporting the Greek Authorities in Managing the National Reception System for Asylum Seekers and Vulnerable Migrants (SMS)”.