A 105-year-old Afghan grandmother traveled for 20 days from her Kunduz home to Europe in search of a better life, The New York Post has reported. Bibihal Uzbeki decided to leave Afghanistan after two of her sons were killed in the war torn country.
Uzbek arrived in Croatia on Tuesday in the company of her son and grandson, who she claimed would, at times, carry her on their backs during the hazardous journey to Europe. She has grandchildren living in Sweden, and that is where she hopes to arrive.
Uzbeki said that the journey came with many challenges, according to The Daily Herald.
"My legs hurt, but I'm fine," she said while narrating her ordeal from inside a Red Cross tent.
"We had problems many times. I suffered a lot," she added. "I fell and injured my head. I have scars on my head."
However, Uzbeki's path to being granted asylum in Europe would not be easy, especially being from Afghanistan, according to The Washington Post.
While Syrian and Iraqi refugees are likely to be granted asylum faster, Afghanis are often viewed differently and tend to be deported more than any other group of refugees.
Even Germany, which has adopted an open arms policy to all refugees, recently warned that Afghan refugees would most likely be deported if they came to Germany. Many European governments do not view Afghanistan as dangerous as the other countries like Syria or Iraq.
"Many European governments increasingly argue that if a person is only likely to face serious harm in one part of the country, then they should move to a safe part of that country rather than seek asylum," said Alexander Betts, director of the Refugee Studies Center at Oxford University. "It is a very worrying practice with implications for many Afghans."
