Ajmal Sadiqi wanted to escape the constant state of war in Afghanistan. He was tired of feeling afraid. “Even if you’re not aligned with anyone, you can just be going to the market and you end up dead,” he said. He traveled first through Iran into Turkey. He boarded a small wooden boat with four other adults and three children. They rowed all night towards Greece and were picked up by the Greek coastguard. Sadiqi shared a grim statistic — saying 90% of people who take that same journey die along the way. The grim job that haunts Italy’s migrant patrols He took a bus on the last leg of his journey to Italy, where he’s been since 2008. He’s been trying to get a job ever since but has not got the necessary documents. He tried to reach the United Kingdom in 2012 but was turned back at the border. He tried to go to Germany too, where one of his brothers lives, but that did not work out either. He returned to Italy, hoping to get the asylum he needs to get papers. Home is now an abandoned house he shares with several other migrants of various nationalities. He still hopes his situation will work out. “Afghanistan has been at war for 50 years and things are never going to change. Here, I have nothing, but I feel safe. I can walk on the street without being afraid.” Despite that, Sadiqi does not want his mother and sister to come to Europe. “The journey is too dangerous for a woman.”