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Frankfurt, Germany | 2022
Fleeing decades of war between the United States and the Taliban government, after continuous bombings and violence, Mustafá Manzuri (29) and much of his family decided to escape that hell.
Their exodus began as they left Afghanistan for Iran. Once there, they crossed the mountains into Turkey, and upon reaching the coast, boarded one of the many rafts that still attempt the dangerous crossing of the Aegean Sea, eventually landing in Greece.
By early September 2020, Mustafá and his family had already spent more than a year on the Greek island of Lesbos, a place that hosts thousands of migrants searching for a new beginning, a new chance at life. They endured different migration routes, endless bureaucratic procedures, and repeated asylum applications. Finally, nearly five years after that drastic decision to go into exile, they managed to set foot in Fulda, a small city located north of Frankfurt, Germany.
Sima Rahmati, Mustafá’s mother, along with another of his sons, took a longer and harsher path. This journey led them through refugee camps different from those where the rest of the family had stayed, until finally, at the end of 2021, she too managed to reach Fulda—a place of hope and reunion.
Day-to-day life in a new and very different continent has forced them to adapt and adopt new Western customs, as well as to begin learning a new language. Yet Mustafá and his family continue to preserve their Afghan customs and traditions. Despite the years, their roots remain intact.
Now is the time to start again, as they have done so many times before. But can they truly integrate into such a different society and culture? Will they gain the tools needed to build and pursue a new life? How much longer will it take before they finally receive the benefits and recognition of new residents in their host country? Will they achieve each of their goals and dreams?
These are some of the questions that remain to be answered in the coming years—answers I hope to find along the way of this story.
What I can say for certain is that there is one answer on which all of Mustafá Manzuri’s family agrees: none of them would ever return to Afghanistan.
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