"A refugee boy travels in the European UnionA fairy tale for all ages" - Free stories online. Create books for kids

This fairy tale is dedicated to all refugee children who are at present in the European Union hoping for a better tomorrow…

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The authors

Avramidou Eleni

Athanasiou Anna

Alexikos George

Albandi Melissa

Andreadou Pauline

Antoniadis Panagiotis

Antoniadou Ariadne

Arabatzis Aggelos

Arabatzis Pavlos

Alexiadis Emilios

Asimakopoulou Marianna

Vakratsa Evgenia

Valoumas Stefanos

Valtopoulou Anastasia

Georgantzeli Anna

Georgiou Socrates

Glaveli Eleni-Zoe

Glykidis Christos

Grigoriadis Panagiotis

Grouios Thomas

Deligiannis Alkiviadis

Dimou Aristidis

Efthymiou Stella

Kalemkeri Ifigenia

Lera Stavroula

Editing – Illustration – Digital Support

Panayotis Domvros

Panorama, Thessaloniki 2016

The sun was high in the sky, that meant that it was midday and my sister Aisha would arrive from school. I was kicked out of the class, because the teacher said I was distracted...again, so I decided to visit the container, where my friend Hasan lived. Hasan was about 40 years old and he was the only friend I had at the Kilis camp and he was from a Syrian village like I was. That day he had cooked Mandi, a traditional Syrian food with ravioli, meat and yoghurt sauce. Of course it wasn’t exactly Mandi, since we were in war and in a camp with thousands of other refugees and immigrants, so the variety of foods wasn’t quite big and Mandi is a complicated recipe.

We both sat on two plastic chairs and after we had finished our food and talked for a while, he asked me: “So, tell me your story”, “My story?” I replied. “Yes, how did you get here and where do you think of going next?” I stayed in silence for a while thinking and then I said “Everything started two weeks ago at Aleppo. Our house was ruined and my father was killed a little while ago on a bombing at the centre of the city. After this my brother Asim was taking care of the family. Asim and our mother decided that we should flee from Syria to search for a safer life. We began our journey at night for better cover. At the exit of the town some soldiers had made an ambush.

My brother took out his gun and the soldiers killed him and my mother too, because instead of staying hidden with us she ran to him. After that my sister grabbed my hand and we ran away from the city.

We were walking for about half a day and then we found a truck that was heading here and they took us with them. The rest is history. As for where we will go next is still unknown.” At that point my narration ended, since my sister had just arrived from school. She was angry with me because I was kicked out of for the third time and we went back to our container.

The rest of the day went by calmly, as usual. My sister helped some of the women with the housework and with their kids, while I was trying to play football with some kids.

At night I slept very late, because I couldn’t sleep and my sister the next day woke me up at 3 a.m. saying that a van would take us to Turkey with some other refugees and from there we would go to Greece. I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to Hasan, because we left in a hurry, but I was sure he would understand. We squeezed into a van for several hours and then they left us at the entrance of a Turkish city. We went to the port with the others, where we had to wait to get into a boat and leave. Someone asked to see our papers and then they pushed us to move forward.

After a while some guys wore us lifejackets and they put me in a boat with other 20 people. We could barely keep ourselves into the boat and tried not to fall into the sea. I turned my head behind me to find my sister and I realised that she wasn’t there with me. Worried, I looked back at the pier scanning the crowd to find her. Suddenly I got a glimpse of her on the coast, some guys trying to pull her away from the crowd. She was trying vainly to get away. I yelled her name but I couldn’t do anything, because the boat had already left the coast. I just stayed there squeezed on the boat thinking that from now on I was alone and I should get away with every difficulty on my own, without her help. I looked around the sea and I saw other boats exactly the same with the one I was on.

The coast was a blur and the waves had become very big. The boat was waving a lot. Suddenly I heard a splash and I turned my head to see what had just happened. Someone had fallen into the water and some others were trying to help him to get on the boat again. The boat jerked dangerously from the weight loss and before I could realise what was happening I was in the water. Then I heard a scream and looked back to the boat. I saw a woman pointing at the water. At once I understood that I wasn’t the only one who had been into the water.

The sky had become very dark and rain started to fall. I tried to reach the place where the woman was pointing, swimming but the waves kept keeping me away and the lifejacket was making things worse. Decidedly, I took of the lifejacket off and let the waves to take it with them, while I was swimming to the place where the kid had fallen. He was unconscious. I pulled him with me from his lifejacket and tried to swim to the nearest boat, reaching to the people in there. That moment a big wave covered me and knocked me over, away from the boat. I sank and I couldn’t resurface. Water got into my mouth and I felt like I was drowning.

Whenever I managed to resurface another wave would pull me down again. I was able to see that I wasn’t the only one in the sea struggling for their life. I didn’t know how much time went by until I felt someone pulling me away from the sea and left me on something solid. I opened my eyes coughing and I saw that I was on a ship, the coastguard probably.

A few hours passed until the coastguard managed to take everyone away from the sea and transport us to Lesbos. By the time we arrived some glimmers of the sun had managed to peep through the clouds. The storm was passing. We all disembarked from the coastguard boat and stayed on the beach. Some people gave us towels. My green shirt was full of wet sand and my backpack was full of sea water.

I felt hungry so I decided to go to the centre of the island and buy something to eat. I found a lot of taverns which released delicious smells from meat and fish. I bought a souvlaki and some bread with feta from a chophouse and sat on a bench in front of a big church to eat them. Nobody paid me any attention, so I guessed that they were used to seeing refugees in the island, since I saw there were and other refugees at the market. A black dog approached me, so I threw the fat that was left from my souvlaki at him. He barked at me pleased and he licked my hand. I curled up on the bench tired and slept with the dog lying on my feet. I didn’t get to sleep a lot. When I woke up I petted the dog and an old lady approached me. She left a bag with some bread next to me; she threw some bones to the dog, smiled at me and left.

Later at noon I met a Syrian boy around my age, named Oman. Oman had been in Lesbos for three days, with his mother and his little brother. We liked each other and became friends. They let me stay with them, so I gave them some of my bread. At night the four of us sat under a big tree at the square and we fell asleep. It wasn’t easy to sleep, since we didn’t know if there was tomorrow, but it was good to know that I had company in this difficult situation, I thought and the dog curled up at my feet.

Melissa Albandi

Austria

It has finally dawned. After a long and tiring night walking through the lonely roads of Austria, I have finally arrived in Vienna. Since the first moment I have been in Austria I felt everyone looking at me. Being very tired from my long trip, I decided to go to a cafe. The café was very nice and classical music was played from the speakers, to be more specific I thought that it was a sonata written by Mozart, my mother would love it. I really miss my family. I sat behind a four-member family. But when they saw me, they instantly got away from me, moreover I saw the mother whispering to the father and looking me with abhorrence, but I didn’t understand why, so what I did was to ignore them.

A few moments later the waitress came over. I ordered a hot chocolate. Later when I saw the receipt, I realized that the price of my chocolate was way higher than the one that was on the menu. This was the time that I realized for good that people here are completely negative to me and all the refugees and that my stay here in Austria won’t be the best.

Walking on the streets of Vienna I didn’t realize how time passed. I had to spent the night somewhere and because the possibilities to find a place at the hotspots (without taking everything I had) were very little, I was about to quit every try to find somewhere safe to stay because I didn’t have any family member or friend who stay at Vienna, when I remembered that my friend from my childhood, Halima, had moved to Vienna with their family 3 years ago.

Without a second thought I called her immediately. Fortunately she had remained that good girl I knew and loved and her she had for me hasn’t changed at all. She invited me to spend the night at her home. After we told our news to each other and explained her things that are happening in our home, Syria. After that I told her about the bad treatment I had been through my staying here in Austria. She told me that she didn’t enjoy the best treatment when she had firstly moved here. Later, when I went to sleep I considered some things. Why do people here treat me so badly? And that led me to another question.

Why do people here in Europe, who have the highest educational level and the broadest minds and horizons, act even worse than those in the east, where we are being educate in classes of 50 students and this if we are lucky? But we know and treat every person as equal. And in the end, I came to the decision that even the great beauty of Vienna, Austria is for me the most distant country, so distant that I didn’t want to stay any minute longer. I have a big trip for tomorrow but I am optimistic about the future.

Eleni Avramidou

Belgium

The sun rose. I woke up early because in the bench I fell asleep, somewhere near the Grand-Place in Brussels, Belgium, there was no tree to protect me from the morning sun. I could see the people passing by looking at me. Some of them seemed to feel sorry for me while others didn’t seem to want me there. Most people though were friendly. I woke up and I went to a local cafe to eat breakfast. The place I decided to go was really nice and traditional. I ordered the traditional waffle and it was indeed one of the most delicious things I had ever eaten. Ι was full and I still had some hours to admire the beautiful commanding buildings of Brussels. The time passed before I noticed. I had to go. I boarded the train tired but full of hope and excitement for my next destination.

Stella Efthymiou

Bulgaria

Only 10 minutes had passed since I managed to relax, close my eye and start sleeping and I felt the train braking sharply. Immediately all the passengers got up very upset and stood next to the door of the cabin waiting to get out. Judging by the desire of the other people to leave the train and get out I thought it was a big and great land. I was the last one to leave the train. As I was walking to the exit of the train station I asked some people in which country I was but I never got my answer as everyone avoided me and they said some things in a weird language.I had reached the city centre, as I realised, but I still had no clue where I was. In front of me I noticed a crowd and I heard them cheering while they were listening to some country song so I started walking to reach the centre of the plaza where all the people were and see what was going on.

I walked through some people and I managed to reach the centre where the music came from and I saw many dancers dancing folk. And how in the world I knew that these people were dancing folk? My mother really liked that dance and even if it had nothing to do with our culture she still talked about it sometimes. I tried to remember her telling me where this dance came from, I really did, but I never actually paid any attention when she was talking about what she liked so I had no idea where the dance was from and obviously where I was. Despite my thoughts the whole happening made me really happy. People dancing, laughing and having fun was exactly what I needed to make me feel calm and forget reality for a bit.

Even if everything should feel right because I had what I needed to calm there was something that was wrong. I could feel it.As I was standing and enjoying the show I looked away and I saw a police man looking at me. After a while I looked again and he was still there. Same position, same face, same look. And where it came through my mind where I am at. I AM IN Bulgaria!!! And I knew that not because Bulgarian police men have anything special or their look makes you remember stuff. I knew it because I remember an old lady last night complaining for police men in Bulgaria. Although I had told her I really wanted to sleep she kept telling me over 20 times to be careful because they are very strict ESPECIALLY with refugees like me.

She was right. I have never seen anyone looking at me like that. It was scary. I think she had explained to me that these police men have a special order to arrest refugees if they see any weird move by them. But they liked to arrest refugees to have fun and not follow the law, which is the truth and I am not saying it to offend anyone. Of course I didn’t want to get in any trouble so I decided to be very careful. And that’s what I did until I couldn't feel my feet, my eyes went black and I felt on the lady who was standing behind me. Maybe this happened because I didn't sleep a lot the last days. I opened my eyes immediately because the lady who I fell on was yelling scared and telling the police man to come over as she was pointing me with her finger like I actually hurt her or something.

I couldn't stand stay there and looking at her pointing at me I stood up and without wanting to interrupt her act I run and hidden inside the crowd until the police man moved and I was able to climb on a tree and stay there to enjoy the dancers. I have to admit that I actually like Bulgarians despite what I got through. They seem to protect each other and have fun as a country, though they definitely have to work things out with the refugees. But let’s not think about that, it’s better for me to find a safe place to sleep because I feel exhausted.

Lera Stavrina

Croatia

When I found the courage to open my eyes after a long long night I managed to see through the dirty windows of the bus the Ban Jelacic square, which was full of people from different countries and religions. When we got out of the bus I saw a playground which drew my interest. I decided to go and swing a little so the time would pass by quicker. A couple of parents approached me and suggested that I went to sit with them, something that I appreciated a lot. Their daughter, Isabell was very friendly and funny. After countless hours of playing I decided to say goodbye to Isabel and her family, whom offered to give me accommodation for the night.

I accepted the offer since I didn't have any other choice. Just before we arrived at their house we passed by the Baountek lake, an astonishing sight in which we came across some family friends. Strangely, all of which were very friendly with me. Just when we arrived at their house I fell asleep because I was exhausted from the trip that had taken place earlier. "Where is my family?" I wondered.

Ifigenia Kalemkeri

Cyprus

The trip to Cyprus was very pleasant. I managed to sit next to the porthole of the ship so I could see everything outside the ship. The sights we came across were breath-taking. The good thing about Cyprus was that a friend of mine, Leonidas offered me to put me up at his house whenever I stopped by Cyprus. Just when we were ashore I pulled out the almost destroyed paper that my friend has written his address and phone on. I asked a man from the crew to lend me his phone for a call. In big hesitation he gave me his phone. "Fast" he said. I've got work to do. When I called Leonida their parents came to pick me up and took me and Leonidas on a tour to the island. Firstly we went to the Sykia beach, a beach with crystal water.

After that we went to the castle of Pafos, where we came across some awful people who started swearing when they saw me but thankfully Leonida's parents asked them nicely to stop and so they did. When the tour was over we went to Pafos where they bought me dinner which consisted of traditional dishes of Cyprus, such as “antinahtes” potatoes and haloumi cheese. Both of them were delicious, though if I had to choose between them I would prefer the haloumi cheese. Later on we ate ice cream and went home. We watched some TV with Leonidas; we played, talked and fell asleep.

Ifigenia Kalemkeri

Czech Republic

I woke up from a strong nudge on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and looked at the young policeman who was looking at me insistently. I realized it was time to wear off. The previous night I had managed to cross the borders of the Czech Republic and I slept near the customs office, in a small forest. After several hours of continuous and tedious walking, I arrived in Prague, the Czech capital. As soon as I entered the city, I felt thousands of eyes staring at me suspiciously. I began to walk faster, until I arrived at a popular, as it seemed restaurant, in which almost all the tables were full. I decided to get something in hand. I opened the glass door and through every speech and noise stopped, which continued until I left.

I bought a traditional dish, perhaps the only one not containing beef, called Naklantanou Chermelin, which was pickled cheese salve with pepper, garlic and spices. To be able to eat it, however, I had to buy a loaf of bread. I started to eat greedily my meal, almost to chew it. After I finished, I started walking in the small alleys of this big city, until my legs brought me in front of the well-known Prague Castle. As soon as I saw this huge building, a memory came to my mind: me, with my little sister and my father, to present a small theatrical play to our family. I was the brave knight who saves the beautiful princess, my sister, from the dragon, my father.

Hot tears flowed down my cheeks. Suddenly I felt exhausted and weak. I stretched my bedsheet and I lay down in the grass beside the castle walls, looking at the sun that was setting. Soon I fell asleep. A sleep full of knights, kings, duels, horses, but at the same time desperate voices bombs whistled, buildings collapsing and dead people lying in the streets and sidewalks of my ruined city.

Christos Glykidis

Denmark

Driven away from everywhere I’d been, I arrive at Denmark. “To Copenhagen we have to go”, some cried. We jumped on a boat and after some hours we arrived. Here, they constantly repeat, everything is done they will leave us alone. For me it didn’t seem like that since wherever I turned every local stared at me with animosity and disbelief, maybe I would react in this way as well. I cannot overlook the little mermaid, here at the port, standing gracefully in contrast to her little size. Furthermore, I notice the kastelet an old fortress that now is opened to the public as a park. Wonderful town, really, a little dull though. We stayed a little outside of the centre with the rest, the ones that had previously arrived and after I settled somehow I went out of my tent seeing police officers talking about the confiscation of our possessions.

Without being able to understand much more, one of them stood in front of me, repeating the same things and grabbing some money and an expensive frame, which my parents had gave me saying I was going to need it, without although taking the picture. They claimed it was for my own good, I didn’t react aggressively though. Since they didn’t hear and they left with an indifferent look upon me, I started running crying. I stood under a tree seeing the beautiful lights of the city as well as the park’s, but at the same time I noticed the busy men and women that even though they looked so small could cause such big storm. It was me, the fear and as much hope left to me on this tree thinking of what I went through till now.

Ariadne Antoniadou

Estonia

After a very long trip my train finally arrived at Talin, capital of Estonia. Familiarising myself with the place, Ι found a sign with the most popular memorials of the city. It had many. I wouldn't be able to visit all of them though because of my next departure so I picked the ones that I was most interested in. First I went to the town hall which is a seven century old building. Then I visited the well-known castle Tobea, my favourite of them all. A big building it was which also had a cafeteria built inside the wall but they wouldn't let me in because I didn't have an escort. In my view, though, Esthonians looked reasonable and pretty confident from their gait. My last visit was at the great historical centre of Talin.

Little pavement alleys, oily lamps, Gothic rhythm bell towers and medieval time shops made me feel like a time traveller. It was just amazing. I was starving but I remembered that I had kept some of the train’s food that they gave us. Therefore I found the chance and went ahead and sat on a bench. After I finished eating I took a look in the sky. The image of my relatives was created. I was missing them and even though I wanted to go back to Syria I knew I had to remain strong. I was quickly brought back to reality after I saw the time from the bell tower. I had to go. The night was approaching as my departure had to leave those beautiful things that I saw and convert them into a big and great experience that I will never forget.

Stefanos Valoumas

Finland

After hours of unbearable walking I reached Finland. I stopped in order to relieve my aching legs. Its inconceivable wild beauties together with its endless lakes were breath-taking. I looked at the sky. I got up and started to run furiously. I wanted to achieve a new beginning away from war’s bombs that still echoed inside my head. I noticed with the corner of my eye the suspicion pictured into the faces of people who were passing by. They considered me and the likes of me a potential threat.

The negative stance of Finland concerning the refugees, depresses me. The night found me alone in a wet bench. I took out from my pocket the ceased and used photo of my family. The circumstances of the past discouraged me from quitting. Likewise, I will now seek a better future for me and my family. I slept full of dreams and hopes for a better future here in Finland.

Anna Georgantzeli

France

“Thank you”, was the first word I sighed when I arrived in France after days. It was a long trip. I faced many difficulties throughout my journey such as, the bad weather conditions and even the negative attitude of people. But I made it, I reached my final destination. I have heard from my compatriots that France would accommodate 30.000 refugees. Fortunately I was one of them. Nobody knows what will follow. After checking us in reception centres, I went to Paris by bus. I sat for hours admitting the Eiffel Tower. Products were expensive; I could not afford to buy anything. Many cars and people, everything seemed so nice and peaceful, nobody payed attention to me. Life goes by quickly. In my case I could have died instantly due to the war back in Syria.

Once again I was grateful. It was getting dark and we had to get back to the care centre. Arriving at the centre we were informed that FYROM closed its borders and nobody could pass. That was really unpleasant. After I ate the sandwich they had given us, without complaint, I went to my tent which it was given to us back in Greece. I slept peacefully under the lights of France. The next few days I ate, slept, strolled alone. Even though I had not friends, it was enough that I was alive. People were welcoming and friendly. Moreover we had been taken care of by the organizations. I thank them through the depths of my heart because they saved me and took care of me. I hope everyone reach his/her destination quickly and easily.

Aggelos Arabatzis

Germany

After all this time I did it, I arrived in Germany! After such a dangerous trip by boat, after all this walking, I made it! Me let me passed the border, while the others from Afghanistan not. I'm in a town which is called Munich. It is very nice here! I was hungry and I went to the Marienplatz, a very large square. There I bought a pretzel and I went to eat it on a deck that overlooked the river. I was tired and I went to lie down in a subway bench. I lay down and after a few minutes some Germans awoke me suddenly, telling me something in German with anger. I tried to talk with them but I didn't succeed. I got up and I got the subway to the Olympics Stadium to sleep quietly.

Tomorrow I will go to BMW to find a job. When I go to the stadium I lay down and I wondered why the behaved me so angry. I hadn’t done anything to them! I had heard that Germans want us! Even the Chancellor had said that the want the refugees! I closed my eyes and came to my brain pictures from my house. Also, I remembered my parents, my sister and my brother. Why don't we all together here? Tomorrow I will start to have a different life, more normal life!

Anna Athanasiou

Hungary

At last I arrived in Hungary. I had gone through so much to get here and when I managed to do so it seemed strange to me. During the first couple of days I stayed at a refugee camp near the borders, the day after a police officer informed me that I would be transported to another camp at the city of Budapest. We arrived at night; I was so tired that I fell asleep at the waiting room. The next morning I was told that I could have a walk around the city. I immediately grabbed the chance to take a walk around the city. I asked the people working at the camp about the city’s sights. Following their advice I started of crossing the infamous ''Chain'' bridge, one of the bridges connecting the city which is cut in half by the river Danube.

I took a bath at the city’s famous baths. I was hungry so I decided to take a break and go to eat something. Because I didn’t know what I would like to eat. I ordered Hungary’s national food, goulash. When I finished eating I continued my walk, the next sight that I visited was the castle of Buddha, an impressive medieval castle built near the banks of Danube. It is considered to be one of the greatest feats of Hungarian engineering up to this date. Suddenly the sky darkened, I decided to go back because it was going to rain. Later that day I was informed that my papers where ready and I was able to continue my Odyssey. I fall asleep without knowing whether I was going to reach my destination.

Aristidis Dimou

Ireland

After a long and tiring journey we reached the shore and more significantly the shore of Ireland, as I hear from my fellow travellers. What a beautiful place Ireland is! A green piece of land in the middle of the ocean! A bus is waiting for us in order to take us to the capital, Doublin. There we settled temporarily at a hotspot. I immediately get out and start exploring the city. In little time I am out of the renowned Phoenix Park. I remain speechless while facing the beauty of this paradise. Immense plains covered in colourful flowers lie at my feet.

As I am crossing the paved path I am wondering where this dreamy place ends. And people, oh so many people. We do look really different and I am not the only one who has noticed it since I can see them staring at me full of wonder. During my walk I have already seen the famous zoo Park, the imposing Phoenix monument, the old Ashtown castle and the Irish president's luxurious villa. Exhausted from all of these hours of walking I decide to visit a small restaurant I can see near a lake.

There, I am given the chance to try a traditional Irish dish called Boxty, offered to me by my new Irish friend. After finishing my delicious meal, in no time at all I find myself sleeping under the shade of some trees.

Pavlina Andreadou

Italy

When I arrived to Florence with the other compatriots I wanted to eat something refreshing. Searching for a place like that I found an ice cream store at a corner. When I entered the shop the owner welcomed me. It had any type of ice cream you could think of. While I was eating I saw the beautiful town. All the people there were very hospitable. The next morning I took a bus to continue my journey.

Panagiotis Grigoriadis

Latvia

After a tiring journey I found myself in Latvia. I had no idea where I was but fortunately other refugees had come too so I asked them. I was very tired. I lay on bench and slept. When I woke up I could see things differently, I felt free. Since I was hungry I asked a passer-by for food. He paid no attention to me and after a while I fainted.

George Alexikos

Lithuania

Yesterday some buses picked us up from the borders and carried us outside of Vilnius, Lithuania. We stopped in front of some tall apartment buildings. They looked like no one has ever carried for them, as a result they were so ugly that didn’t want to observe, although they had this ugly-beauty that made them irresistible. I saw an old lady coming out of one of them. I rushed and helped her with her bags as they were very heavy and she couldn’t carry them. I think that afterwards she thanked me, because of a smile that lightened her face, but I couldn’t understand because of the different language she was speaking. She starred searching inside her bag and some seconds later she gave me some money. I didn’t want to take them but she took my hand and gave them to me. She, again, told me something I couldn’t figure out, she hugged me and then she left.

They gathered us to tell us that we could stay here, after we have been checked, and stay to the apartment blocks placed there. If we wanted to we could take up part time jobs that the government offered. I left for the city after the security checked my papers. I think I lost track of time when wandering into the city but the last thing I remember to have checked is the name of the library of the University of Vilnius, the biggest Lithuania. I don’t know what I am going to do next but I am not going to forget easily what happened today!

Panagiotis Antoniadis

Luxembourg

I patiently wait to cross the borders. The night has fallen. The military camp is full of people. Children are crying and their parents are unable to calm them down. I arrive at the check desk. The border guard is looking at me as if I am not a human. He lets me cross the borders. I hear them saying: Do you think they are jihadists? I do not care. I am running. A family who stands behind me tells me to wait. I do not listen to them. I am free now, without listening bombings from everywhere. I listen carefully the tranquillity that characterizes the place. I look at my parents and I ask them questions concerning our next destination. They gave me no answer. We head to the nearest shelter, which is located in the capital city, Luxembourg. Arriving there, we think about our next move.

The residents are looking at us as if we are inferior. At every restaurant we go in order to ask for food, we are told that they are full, even though they are not, because they understand that we are refugees. The city is big, as big as a city of 2,000 km can be; the houses are modern and huge. Parks full of wildlife are a distinctive part of the city. How it is possible for the residents not to be as pure and pretty as the city is? I wonder. A sudden noise scares me. I turn around. I look right and left and I see a family. It consists of a mother, a father and their two daughters. It reminds me of my family and how it used to be before my older sister died in my arms. I look at them.

They propose to us to go at their house. What if they want to hurt us? We do not consider this possibility. We enter the car and I close my eyes. I imagine our new life and slowly, I start to fall asleep.

Anastasia Valtopoulou

Malta

After lots of countries I visited, I ended up in Malta. The first thing that struck me was the hot climate of the country. Malta is a little country with few people, but I felt I was in a huge place as I was walking by the infinite sea. The people didn’t have any problems with me and they showed me no fear or wickedness. After spending a whole day looking for another refugee from my county, I felt hungry. I had heard that the national dish of Malta was rabbit. With the little money I had I bought a fillet of rabbit. I was surprised it was so tasty. After this excellent meal I lay down to sleep under a huge tree near the beach. I knew I needed sleep because one more difficult day would dawn.

Thomas Grouios

Holland

Holland, a new country, a new adventure. As soon as I crossed the borders I was taken along with some other refugees to a refugee camp. After I spent a few hours there I was given permission to go out for a walk to the country’s capital city, Amsterdam. Because I hadn't eaten for a long time so I decided to search for a place to eat. It didn't take a lot of effort as my attention was captured by a soup. Its name is Erwtesoep, it's the national dish of Holland. I have to admit that it is really tasty and filling. After I finished eating I kept on with my walk, I got past the Amsterdam harbour one of the largest and busiest harbours in the world. The last sight that I visited was the Anne Frank's museum.

Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who lived during the German occupation of Holland in WWII. The diary in which she used to write was recovered after the end of the war and described her experiences during the 2 years that she and her family were hiding on a basement; it is no surprise that it became a world hit. Her story moved me deeply as it reminded me myself. At night I returned back to the camp and couldn’t stop thinking what I had seen today.

Aristidis Dimou

Polland

I got off the train and the first thing I saw at the borders of Poland were refugees asking desperately for help. It didn’t seem strange to me as I had seen that picture in every country I had been to. I walked into the crowd looking for a passage to cross the borders. Even though the guards saw me, they allowed me to pass through. I don’t know why. I started running. That time I felt free under the moonlight. But the yells of my compatriots held me back. As it was dawning, I arrived in Warsaw. I decided to go for a walk at the Lazienki Park. People were a little bit hostile but the landscape was so beautiful that I just ignored them.

How is it possible that the place I was looking at now was created by such uncivilized people? I understand them to some extend but I need to survive as the people I left behind. The night was slowly falling and I had to find a place to sleep. The only thing I could think of was that park. I lied down on the grass and watched the stars full of hope for the future.

Deni Vakratsa

Portugal

Two days after I had been to the country I was admitted to school where I could stay for some time. On my way to the school I passed the Lisbon Aquarium I noticed a couple of people looking at me and talking about me. The incident didn’t bother me and I was happy that most of them simply ignored me.

Pavlos Arabatzis

Romania

So I arrived in Romania. What a tiring journey it was, but there's no alternative. I have lost my family and my friends, I won't see them again. People here don't like me, most of them, it isn't right to blame them all. They have closed the borders, the journey for my compatriots is going to be harder and I can't understand why. We didn't hurt them, we just needed their help. All these were haunting me as I was looking at the Danube. What a river! The most famous feature in Romania, as a nice and kind sir informed me, when he offered me Frigarui, which is chicken kebab, I guess, however I enjoyed it! Now I have to continue, the journey hasn't be done yet.

Elena Zoi Glaveli

Slovakia

After an exhausting night I found myself just outside the Slovakia borders. The guards there were aggressive and I think that this happened because of the government's attitude against us. But I was very lucky. One of the guards was a friend of my dad. He recognised me and he let me pass through the borders. He also put me on a train which was going to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. After a two-hour trip the train reached its final destination, just outside a big gate. There I asked a passenger and he told me that this huge gate was the gate of Saint Michael, one of the most famous sights of Slovakia.

I stepped under the gate and after a while I reached the centre of the town. I saw that in the centre there were many cafeterias, restaurants and bars. I sat in a restaurant and I ordered a vegetable soup, one of the traditional foods of Slovakia. It was really tasty but it started to get dark. So I found a warm corner and I slept there. The other days in this country went on like this but my trip had to continue.

Emilios Alexiadis

Slovenia

As soon as I arrived in Ljubljana I went to a store and got a newspaper the assistant looked at me suspiciously and I understood from that he considered me a thief. I gave him the money for the newspaper. He looked at me and asked me why we come to his country and not go elsewhere else. At that time I got angry so much that I started to yell at him “what would you do to my place” so I left disgraced and angry from the shop. Opposite the shop I saw the lake Bled. I sat on a bench and began to read the newspaper. Inside I found an article about some citizens of the countries who help refugees. I couldn’t understand why some people were trying to destroy the aid.

Socrates Georgiou

Spain

It’s early in the morning, 7.33 to be accurate. I am walking along the pedestrian crossing of La Rambla in Barcelona, fascinated by the colours of the morning sky, thinking about the uncertain tomorrow Spain can offer me. Feeling hungry I decide to get into a bakery after getting something to eat I continue walking. The people around me are looking at me though they don’t seem irritated by my presence, at least not much. I casually continue my walk before the thoughts about where to spend the night flood my mind.

Marianna Asimakopoulou

Sweden

One day I woke up in a beautiful city. At the beginning I didn't know where I was so I asked some refugees that where there for over two weeks. They responded to me saying we are in beautiful Stockholm. I was transported here with a few other refugees by a helicopter which was driven by some Swedish mercenaries who saw the tragic situation we were experiencing.

When we finally came to Stockholm we were transported to the nearest hotspot where we were provided with some medical care, food and a bed so we could rest. We also learned that Sweden would be the first country in the European Union who granted to Syrian refugees permanent residence permit, something that made us all very happy.

Alkiviadis Deligiannis

United Kingdom

I have been travelling for a long time. It’s something like a surprise for me that after so long a time I would finally reach Britain and especially London. I reached the City Center and I was stunned at the sighting of the beautifully designed restaurants and cafes. Just beautiful. The way they were built and organized it made feel both free and happy. It is a fact that Londoners are very busy as employees and family members, stressed out, trying to finish everything in time. Apart from those that just sat on the benches admiring the beauty of nature combined with that of human construction there was nothing but a few kids running and their parents trying to catch them mainly because it was Saturday and most of them didn’t have to go to work.

I walked until I found the Big Ben of the Castle of Westminster. IT WAS HUGE!!! So much so that people looked like chess pawns in front of it. And as we speak about chess, I saw some guys playing chess under some trees and one of them challenged me. I think they might have been members of a chess club or something. I couldn’t manage to defeat them, and bear in mind that I was the best in my class back at Syria. They were SO GOOD that before I even looked down the other guy had thought fifteen ways to defeat me knowing my every move every time. Just INCREDIBLE!!!! After playing chess I bumped into a sign showing were the Hyde Park was. I crossed the London Bridge or else called The Tower Bridge.

It was heard that when a couple visited London they “Lock their love” to the bridge with a lock, something like an oath for them. I finally entered the Hyde Park and I must conform that it is extremely big. Imagine that sometimes people say that small foxes appear carrying rabbits or rabbits with their babies jumping around. I sat down under a tree and, as it was getting dark, I thought of my next destination but the only thing I wanted to do was to learn more about this beautiful city.

Panagiotis Antoniadis

The noise from the bomb going off a few containers away woke Zarif up. For a few seconds he stood still with an empty look on his face, not being able to realize where he was or what was going on. On the mattress across the container he saw Aisha sleeping. The images in his head started spinning at an amazing speed. A few minutes ago he was walking the streets of London. “It was all a dream” he thought. He then realized that Aisha was alive. He ran and held her tight in his arms.

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The little girl opened her eyes and half-asleep half-awake asked what was going on. “Go to sleep” Zarif said and put her gently on the mattress. He came out of the container and saw the sun slowly rising. “It was all a dream” he thought again. A strange joy overwhelmed him. Aisha was alive, nothing else mattered. He went back and forgetting the war for a while lay beside his sister. A smile lit his face up as he was falling asleep.

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All pictures in this book have been retrieved from the internet and are labeled for noncommercial reuse with modification.

Modifications carried out online with” BeFunky.

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