Happy ending to a refugee’s epic tale that began 3,500 miles away
CLINGING to one of the wheel arches of a coach bound to Dover, Omid Hussini, 13, feared he would be crushed into mush.
That shuddering journey, with the wheel inches below him, was just one of many terrifying moments in a 3,500 mile odyssey that was fraught with danger and featured an extraordinary cast of characters - the Taliban, people smugglers, and migrants desperate for a better life.
By the time he arrived in the UK, exhausted and dishevelled, Omid had spent six months travelling from his native Afghanistan.
He had been bundled into trucks, he had hidden in the mountains, and been locked in jail. He had travelled through Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Greece, Italy and France to get here.
Now 23, Omid’s life is very different.
He was six-years-old when the US and allies invaded his homeland. When he reached adolescence his family feared he would be kidnapped by warlords, or the Taliban, so they arranged his passage out of the war-torn country.
He was fostered in Rochdale and now lives in Heywood while working at a coffee shop in Bury.
His status in this country is secure - he has been granted asylum. And, this week, as he graduated from the University of Central Lancashire with a degree in sports coaching, he spoke to the Advertiser of his treacherous journey from his war-torn homeland to a new life in Greater Manchester.
“I first got into the back of a lorry when I was 13, my family paid an agency (people smugglers) for my journey”, Omid said. “There were about 10 of us in total, and I just remember lying on the floor of the truck.
“From Afghanistan we travelled to Iran. I was scared. It was very bumpy. I could hear the fighting. The bit between Iran and Iraq on the back of a truck was the hardest time of the whole journey. At one point I thought ‘this is the end’- I could hear blasts, there was some kind of fighting going on between the border, we were on a bumpy road and God knows what was going on outside it.
“It was very warm, so humid, It was very tough to go into the sun. It was like being in an oven (in the truck). There was nothing to do. Imagine having your eyes closed, you cannot see nothing, but you can just hear things around you. You just think negative things.
“We had a long journey where we walked along the hills and mountains of Iraq. It was like a herd of sheep being led into the hills, and we would just follow instructions.
“We got out of the truck and were put with this family in Kurdistan, and in the day time we had to go into the mountains to hide.
“We went there because when they catch you they shoot you. We hid for one night. After that we were ready to go. (The people smugglers) wouldn’t wait around in case we got caught and got into trouble.
“Travelling from Turkey to Greece was the scary bit. There were five or six of us who travelled on a paddle boat, and we set off at midnight so we wouldn’t be caught by the coastal guard.
“We kept trying and failing, and had to keep turning back. The first time the night was so wild, and it was particularly bad along the coast. At some points of the journey I just thought ‘I wish there was a way back’ - it was so frustrating.
“At one point when we tried to get into Greece we were caught by police and ended up in prison in Turkey for a week. The prison was fine compared to Afghanistan. We hadn’t seen a better life, so for us it was fine.
“One day they just released us and we went back and tried again. This time the sea was very wild. We got a boat along the open sea, we went so late so that we wouldn’t get caught by the coastal guards.
“We ended up going in circles in the water. We couldn’t move at all. Then we finally made it to Greece. When we got to Greece, that was the best bit. We were in a camp for about a week. We had food and drinks.
“Then we carried on to Italy in the back of a truck. When we got there I just thought ‘what are we going to do?.’ That’s what I thought each time we left a country behind. “You just have to go through with it. Language was a barrier, we were trying to get to Rome to get to France and ended up in Calais. It was very cold, it was winter, we were there by the sea. We made some shelters in a bush. I wasn’t there for long. Me and some other guy just decided to travel to the UK under the wheel arch of a tourist coach. When the coach started moving I thought ‘wow, this is something serious.’ We just went through with it, the coach was bumping up and down. I thought ‘what would happen if I got crushed by this wheel?’ - we would turn into a mush.
“I remember being very tired as well. The journey was overnight. I didn’t move or eat anything but I didn’t feel hungry. We were too worried about our lives to be hungry.
“Then we were arrived England and we were in London. From there we sneaked out from under the coach.
“We ended up on a train to Oldham. I walked into a police station and they put me in touch with Oldham social services, who put me in a residential home for young people.
“It wasn’t long before I was put into a foster home, and I lived in Rochdale. When I came here I had no idea about anything. When I arrived there were so many things that were different.
“I was granted permanent residency last year. It has changed my life, from the person I was at home, to the person I am today. I just don’t like to think about it, I get emotional.
“Every time I do I just appreciate that now I can go out and travel. I think back to the people that were there along the way to support each other.
“I think things are written out to happen, it’s in God’s plan.”
Omid was fostered by Sandy and Geoff Bolton when he settled in Rochdale. He attended Falinge Park High School then Hopwood Hall College, to do a BTech and Foundation degree in sport before going to UCLan in 2016.
“It was a really dangerous journey but the alternative was to stay in Afghanistan and risk my life anyway”, he added. “When I arrived in the UK I was a young boy who spoke hardly any English so it was hard at first but I made sure to take up every opportunity given to me, which has led me to where I am today.
“My head wasn’t in the right place during my first year at UCLan and I found it tough. Thankfully I was well supported and got back on track. Sometimes you’ve got to fail to succeed and now I’m so proud to be graduating from University.”
Omid coaches football, tennis and basketball and has worked for Link For Life in Rochdale, with children aged 5 – 14, to gain experience alongside his studies. His dream would be to work for a professional football club and he’s planning to do a Masters degree in sports coaching.
“When I speak to young people about my experiences, I tell them to take advantage of the education that’s so readily available. I was put into a situation where I had to fight to survive but it’s made me the person I am today. My mum, dad, brothers and sisters back in Afghanistan are very proud of what I’ve achieved and appreciate that had I stayed my life would be very different.”
Omid has been awarded the Mark Lees Endeavour Award by the University, an accolade given annually in memory of Mark Lees, a UCLan sports development graduate, who died in December 2015 after a battle with a brain tumour.
Omid’s foster parents, Sandy and Geoff, watched him graduate from UCLan at Preston’s Guild Hall alongside more than 3,500 fellow students.
“I was put in a situation where I had to fight to survive but it’s made me the person I am today”