My friend, the refugee

"I went Thursday in hope to make it. I didn't imagine I will stay another two days outside in the cold weather, sleepless, my pants fully wet and muddy. Police use a kind of sore spray that pains a lot, the smell of it makes you suffer.
After walking continuously two nights, at the last moment police captured us, the result of all my efforts was failure.
I've seen a guy who tried to climb the high-razor wire fence, but his legs went down so his hand and arms hung in razor wires with all his body weight, deadly injured, too much blood. French police ignored him without doing any help. Terrible to describe even, I wonder whether i will experience the same situation."

This is one of series of texts I have received since late September from a Syrian refugee named Azad. I met Azad in Vienna when I was speaking at the Evangelising Europe Conference. My parents and I spoke briefly with him as he was in the process of leading a group of 20-30 people across the continent to places where they could be safe and settle. For some, that place was Germany, for others Norway. For Azad, who once studied English literature at the University of Damascus and was an English teacher before the fighting started, that place was Great Britain. 

My mother gave Azad a "2 Ways to Live" tract, and I left him with my business card and a promise to help him. He has been in touch with me ever since, updating me on his progress across the continent. The weeks that have passed since then have been very busy, but I have made time to keep my word to Azad. Through various contacts I have pursued legal means for Azad's entrance into the country as a refugee. Regrettably, this was proving impossible for a number of reasons. During this time, I also inadvertently met a Somalian/Kenyan man with "contacts": Arab men who with the right financial incentive could be persuaded to temporarily part with their passport to aid someone of a similar appearance in a safe border crossing. For obvious reasons, this was not an option for me. 

Meanwhile, in his desperation, Azad went to one of the refugee camps in France and made multiple attempts at the treacherous border crossing. Throughout this time, we continued to talk and he kept me informed of his movements. I last heard from him last weekend, when he sent me pictures of his camp. Since then, silence.

When my phone tells me that I am being called by "Unknown" or "Private Number", I answer since it is generally from someone with the Metropolitan Police. This morning I somehow missed one of these calls, but the person left a message. I was baffled that it was from the Exeter Police - over 200 miles away to the South-West.

"What could they want with me?" I thought. I called the number they left. After speaking with the kind policeman who answered the phone, it all became clear. 

"We have someone in custody and he wanted us to give you a call. Actually, I think he wanted to talk with you himself, but he's presently in a meeting with his immigration solicitor so we won't interrupt that. We just wanted to let you know he's here now." 

Azad. 

I often prayed for Azad's safety, for his passage to England, and for our eventual reunion. The Lord has seen fit to answer the first two prayers. May he be pleased to grant the third! 

This is not the last time that I plan to write about Azad. He has agreed for me to interview him, so as to raise awareness about the situation in Syria and the present refugee crisis. In the coming days I hope to get to know Azad better, not just as a random person that I am helping, but as a friend. Please, pray for Azad. And pray for me as I minister to him. 


Photo credit: Azad, via WhatsApp

Note: Azad has agreed for and in fact encouraged me to use his first name, to tell his story, and to publicly post as many of the texts and photos that he sent me as I like. Please refrain from comments discouraging me from doing so. It has also been agreed that I will not use his image, and that any future interview I conduct with him will be audio recorded or typed unless he tells me otherwise. 

Furthermore, my post is not about politics. It is about people. Racist, xenophobic, Islamophobic, and nativist comments are not welcome, not least because they do not reflect the character and conduct of Jesus Christ, nor do they fulfill the commission he gave to his followers.