I am Ali .. I am your father…
I first met Ali and his family on a warm sunny day, in a makeshift camp in Northern Greece. I have changed their names and will not post pictures of them to protect their privacy.
It was around midday as I approached their tent .. inside were Ali’s wife (Sabine) and daughter. They were sat next to Ali who was lying on the floor on a blanket, in a small tent you may use for a weekend’s camping at the most. The grandchildren were running around outside. Sabine was trying to remove head lice from her daughters beautiful long jet black hair, by hand. You see.. there is no running water at this camp, meaning special shampoos can’t be used to eradicate the lice which have spread throughout the camp. Sabine shrugged her shoulders, pointed at the lice she had diligently removed – her face clearly said “what can I do? “..Resignation at the situation she was in. I mirrored her expression and touched her hand. She smiled weakly and touched my hand in return.
Alis daughter spoke a little English and she gestured towards her father. “He is sick” she said. I looked at Ali who seemed unable to move, yes, indeed he did look very sick. She handed me an empty packet of pills .. “end” she said pleading. Her father had ran out of medication.. she looked to me to help. Me, I was handing out knickers and bras .. me.. I have no medical training. . me.. I kept calm on the outside, but my heart was pounding.
I left the knickers and bras and went to see if I could find help . . I spotted an MSF T shirt and ran to the man wearing it. Asking him to come to Ali who was so very sick .. he told me he wasn’t a doctor.. I took his hand anyway and brought him to the tent .. we showed him the empty packet of pills . . He made a phone call and informed us that the medics would arrive in around an hour at the camp .. His wife was to bring them to Ali. I presume Ali got his medication .. Ali seemed better after this.. smiling, always keen to share a cup of chai.
My friend .. A tough Norwegian biker called Eirik who had cried on my shoulder more than once, became close with Ali and his family .. me though, I left on a plane for England.
It turns out that 58 year old Ali had a heart problem.. he required proper medical help. Instead, he left his war-torn homeland with his wife, daughter and grandchildren to seek safety in Europe .. now trapped in Northern Greece .. living in a small tent, unable to work in the profession he had trained – and unable to send the kids to school, waiting in limbo, relying on strangers for survival .. however, Ali still invited Eirik every day with a smile .. to sit with him and his family and drink tea always extending the hand of friendship.
Alis family loved him .. as a husband, father and grandfather .. that much was glaringly obvious .. yesterday however, on 4 May 2016 .. in a foreign country .. living in a refugee camp thousands of miles from home.. Ali passed away. His family are broken, devastated..Lost without Ali .. please imagine for just one moment that Ali was your beloved father .. of course, Eirik will be there for the family as much as he can .. They will receive the support of people in the neighboring tents .. but they are refugees trapped in a foreign country, unsure of their future, especially now they have to face it without the beloved head of their family ..
He was Ali .. he was your father
Solidarity for refugees 