My pen won’t break, but borders will

By Parwana Amiri

Published by w2eu-Alarm Phone, 2020

Parwana Amiri is a young girl from Afghanistan who lived in the Moria camp together with her family after reaching Lesbos in September 2019. While there, she had been writing about her experiences. Often at night, when the other eight people she was sharing a tent with were asleep. Alarmphone has now published her first book.

Moria might have burned down, but a new camp has been erected. So far there has been no change in European policy. As long as this is the case, the voices of brave people like Parwana need to be heard.

“Put yourself in our shoes! We are not safe in Moria. We didn’t escape from our homelands to stay hidden and trapped. We didn’t pass the borders and risk our lives to live in fear and danger.

Put yourself in our shoes! Can you live in a place, that you cannot walk alone even when you just want to go to the toilet. Can you live in a place, where there are hundreds of unaccompanied minors that no one can stop from attempting suicide. That no one can stop from drinking. […]

In this situation the first thing that comes to my mind to tell you is, we didn’t come here to Europe for money, and we did not come to be European citizens. It was just to breathe a day in peace.

Instead, hundreds of minors here became drug addicts, but no one cares.

Five human beings burned, but no one cares.

Thousands of children don’t have their vaccinations, but no one cares.

I am writing to you to share and I am hoping for change…”

Parwana Amiri