To risk my life had to mean something, otherwise what was it all for?
The boy who fled Afghanistan and endured an terrifying journey at the hands of human traffickers across Europe is now a young man intent on changing the world.
Author: Gulwali Passarlay and Nadene Ghouri
About the book:
His story is a deeply harrowing and incredibly inspiring tale of our times. Gulwali Passarlay was sent away from Afghanistan at the age of twelve, after his father was killed in a gun battle with the US army for hiding Taliban fighters.
Trafficked into Iran, Gulwali began a twelve month odyssey across Europe, spending time in prisons, suffering hunger, cruelty, brutality, nearly drowning in a tiny boat on the Mediterranean. Somehow he survived, and made it to Britain, no longer an innocent child but still a boy of twelve.
In Britain he was fostered, sent to a good school, won a place at a top university, and was chosen to carry the Olympic torch in 2012. He wants to tell his story – to bring to life the plight of the thousands of men, women and children who risk their lives to leave behind the troubles of their homelands.
Many die along the way, some are sent back to face imprisonment and possible death, some survive and make it here, to a country which offers them the chance of a life of freedom and opportunity. One boy’s story is the central story of our times, and this memoir celebrates the triumph of courage and determination over adversity.
