As soon as the last dinghy had set off, the water started to leak inside. After one kilometer the smuggler threw himself to the water leaving the immigrants after to meet their fate. One of the immigrants desperately tried to drive the dinghy, but unfortunately the leakage was increasing. All the people on board threw everything they had carried in the water – bags, food, and clothes – to reduce the weight.
Unexpectedly, the dinghy survived, and they safely arrived at the Greek island Kos, the first European station. Everybody felt the difference. They felt they were treated with humanity by some journalists and organizations.
In the end, Ahmed never payed the smuggler a penny. He spent three hard days outdoor on a street waiting for the permission to go to Athens. The weather was somewhat cold, and they were hungry, thirsty, and a lot of insects hovered over them.
He then took an airplane to Thessaloniki close to the Macedonian border. However in Thessaloniki there was no buses or taxis that were willing to drive them to the border. They were staying on the streets of Thessaloniki street for five hours until a smuggler suggested that he would drive them to the Macedonian border if they pay him 250$ per person.
Thereupon, they were walking continuously for six hours together with the the smuggler. In the group was an old woman whose leg got twisted during the long walk. The smuggler wanted to leave her behind alone in that unknown place. The immigrants decided to carry her so that she could continue.
During that time the border between Macedonia and Serbia was closed so they had to walk around the borders, which took another five hours of constant walking. Then, they exhaustedly waited for the train for some hours but they were unlucky because the train was only taking families. Most of the immigrants were singles and without their families, so Ahmed was chosen by a woman who told the security people on the train that he is her son.
In Serbia, he was treated much better than he had in Greece. He was extremely exhausted and starving. Fortunately he found free buses that contained clothes, food, and drinks. He waited for three days to have a permission to move freely in Belgrade. After that he continued his trip by bus to Belgrade. Belgrade was full of immigrants. All places were occupied by the newcomers; parks, streets, gardens. He borded a train that headed to the Hungarian border.
To be continued …
One of immigrants,
Ammar Al-Kaysi