Teenage asylum seeker living in Lincolnshire fears she’ll be sent back to Afghanistan
Masuma left when she was just 9 years old with her brother
Last updated 22nd Sep 2021
A teenage asylum seeker living in Lincolnshire has been telling us she’s scared she’ll be sent back to Afghanistan.
It comes as questions are raised in parliament about the support and protection of women and children leaving the country.
Masuma fled when she was just 9 years old with her family.
She settled in Iran, but when she was 16, she had to flee again.
As she was crossing the border to Turkey, going through a dark tunnel, she became separated from her parents after hearing gunfire.
"It felt like they are dead"
"I felt like they are shot, but we tried to continue.
"There were like half of us that made to get through the tunnel. The rest couldn’t do that.
"My brother said, “Where are they?” What we doing?” Why they are not coming?”
"The smugglers at the other hand, they said like, “You have to go, why you waiting? You shouldn’t have stopped here, you have to go, continue and you have to run till you will find another people of us.”
"My brother was sitting there for a while and putting his head on his knee and cried a little bit and said like, “I’m not going, why we should go? Where are they?”
"I had no answer."
Masuma and her brother stayed in Turkey for a few months with smugglers, trying to make the journey to Greece.
They had to be rescued several times as their boats kept sinking.
"A coastguard came to us with a big ship and sent a rope to us.
"We climbed from the boat to the ship and we were wet, we were soaked, we were shivering."
They were then sent back to Turkey.
After 4 attempts, they finally made it to the shores of Greece.
"We were happy, thrilled, this is finally the place, the dream house, the dream country.
"I looked at the very tall, beautiful blonde hair girls that were volunteer here who ran to us and said "you are safe, don't worry" and they gave us a plastic coat and some biscuits and juice."
She was given support and managed to get in touch with a relative in England, before making the journey.
"I looked at my brother and said "we made it" and I told him "we are in a safe place now and I'm sure my parents are going to come, they will find us don't worry, they are not dead" just because I was so happy I was very, very optimistic."
Masuma says the bond with her brother kept her going after she promised her dad she'd care for him no matter what.
"You have to have a hope and my brother was my purpose and my hope and giving him a better life and a good future.
"I've been like a mum to him and he's been like a child to me, although it is just a 2 year age gap"
For years, she thought her parents were dead, but she's just received some amazing news.
They are alive.
Our reporter Aaron asks if they'll ever be reunited:
"I didn't know what to do, to scream, to cry, I was shocked.
"They hadn't thought that we were here, they were very surprised that we are in the UK in a very good country.
"No one could imagine that finally we could get here."
Masuma is hopeful they'll one day be together again.
"It would amazing for them to come here.
"I have a bit of hope deep in my heart and maybe we can get them one day here and be living again as a family as we dreamed for our whole live."