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A Young Man's Story
an article by Dimitrios Peichamperis and Olena Sharvan

PART I

Water does not well in all parts of this world limpid and clean and food does not fall from the sky. In some countries of this world numerous people are forced to take drastic measures in their lives. They exile themselves and their families in search for a better life, a better future.



click on photo to enlarge

This statement is true of Mehsud, who 15 years old, was travelling for days. The last one had proven particularly difficult and tiring. He was desperate and alone. He and his friends, a group of 30 people from Pakistan, had attempted last night to cross the river Evros, the natural border between Turkey and Greece, only with a plastic boat! But things went drastically wrong as dangerous whirlpools capsized the boat during the crossing. Fortunately for him he managed to keep to the surface and clung onto a tree trunk. The currents pulled him out and, with the little strength he had remaining, he managed to walk to the nearby village.

It was getting dark and Mehsud was really very tired. So he chose to search for a place where he could take a rest for a few of hours without the awareness of the villagers. It was so easy for him to detect an abandoned building. It was the village school, which must have been abandoned years ago. One of the windows was broken so with a jump he found himself inside the building. He sat in the corner of the room and he was relieved not because he managed to hide, but rather because he managed to escape from a giant cloud of mosquitoes that had chased him for a few minutes.

Time when Mahmud left on Morpheus hands was not long; god of dreams was right in his time. He was wandering for several minutes in the illusions of his dreams, when suddenly he heard some voices. Yes it was voices! He dazed. Who could find him he had wondered. Suddenly in front of him appeared five little ones. They looked without saying a word for a long time, as if they had swallowed all their tongues. These were the children of the village. They were on summer holidays at present and that was a really good chance for them to visit their grandparents for a few days.



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PART II

In that village everyone could find their freedom while they were giving a breath of life with their endless game, in this almost deserted village and they were providing with hope the last brave and quixotic remaining elders

Surprisingly for some of the children, meeting with Mehsud was not something uncommon, In the past they had seen hundreds of immigrants passing through from there, All with the same destination, the same hope, Mahmud was greatly surprised when one of them took the initiative to talk to him

With his poor English which he had learned from the visits of the American volunteers in his village, he managed to grasp the meaning and to reveal children’s intentions, They wanted to help him! They knew to speak some English as they had started private lessons while in their first years of primary school, In public schools since the time of English lesson they were playing blind man's buff in the school yard, So they brought to Mehsud some food, water and dry clothes, He was their new friend! And he told them his story, for the better life he had dreamt to live in the “old continent” and for the recent misfortune of his companions, whose fate was ignored

But as the time passed so quickly the kids left the traveller alone and he had not hesitated to thank them for their help and for their good intentions

In the next morning children had woken up with a smile on their face and full of zest for play. They had arranged to go fishing at the Maritsa river (Evros river in Bulgarian and Turkish), where several “petres” (method of fishing where a hook and a stone tied to the edge a string) were thrown of them. They had used as bait snails and some leeches which among their other uses in health, is one of the best bait for the sheatfish (known as catfish too). As the first hooks had not given the desired results small fishermen were getting more and more anxious. "Next one will surely have some fish," they said. "Let me pull out the next stone, you are so unlucky" replied someone of them.. . ...more.


This report was posted on August 10, 2011.

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