13/01/2025
Nomads stories series
Wali Khan a cobbler from Nowshera working in gilgit main bazaar told me his stories about escaping Pakistan as a refugee.
Walking on the street of Gilgit bazaar looking for cobbler to stich my torn trekking shoes, finally I found a cobbler on the corner of the street. He saw me with a foreigner friend from Poland. Start to ask me questions and telling if you work with foreigners why you just don't escape to Europe or the west with them. I told him it's not that my friend the immigration laws are strict these days and life is not what we see on social media, he said at least it's better than here, I have been there he said,
He told me his whole journey escaping from Iran Pakistan border all the way to the western Iran to the Turkish border with his fellow refugees, told me the journey is hard to turkey you have to be mentally prepared and physically fit, you have to eat everything you get, and trek on unfamiliar rough terrain in hills through the passes, many people give up they can't take it, they turn back or just die of fatigue but once you are turkey it's better, I did many jobs in Istanbul he said, and earn good money, my plan was to go the Greece, that I could a month earlier a ship sank drowning 300 Pakistani people, but some of my friends decided to go and one is Germany other in Italy.
Wali Khan came back to Pakistan 6 months ago but says the economical situation in Pakistan makes him think he should try once more take that boat to Greece or go to Libya and try another route
In the I asked him can I write your story on internet he said happily please I want people to know, there is a escape!