Abstract

This chapter tells the story of Akbar, a young Afghan man who left Kabul during the summer of 2015 to escape war and poverty. Three months later, after a torturous journey that included abuse by both smugglers and the authorities, Akbar arrived in Frankfurt, emotionally, physically, and financially broken. The authors frame a harrowing, first-person account of Akbar's journey across Western Asia and Central Europe: first, recounting his parents’ refugee experiences during the Soviet-Afghan War; later, describing the circumstances that convinced his family to support Akbar's journey; and finally, explaining his family's thoughts about Akbar's future in Germany. The chapter concludes with speculations about the potential political ramifications of the forced repatriation of (perhaps) tens of thousands of Afghans from Europe. This story of one young man and his family's history helps to humanize the confusing and often impersonal accounts of the global migration crisis and provides necessary historical context for grasping the contemporary Afghan refugee crisis.

Keywords: refugee, Afghanistan, migration crises, human smuggler, Germany, oral history