Personal stories

Nigerian football player in Ukraine, threatened with deportation in France

In February 2022, Clinton Chalokwu was selected in Nigeria to play for the Ukrainian first division Vorskla Poltava football team. But the Russian invasion on February 24 crushed this young Nigerian’s dreams. Now in France, he is threatened with deportation.

Siful survived Libya shipwreck by clinging to capsized boat

Siful survived a shipwreck off Libya in which 30 migrants died. The 33-year-old from Bangladesh told us his story.

UN migration agency helps young Afghan make a fresh start in his home country

A young Afghan man opted against taking a risky migration route to Europe, choosing instead to stay in his home country to start a local business. The International Organization for Migration, a UN agency, helped fund it.

'If we die, at least we will be buried in Syria': Muhammad and his family opt to return home

After the devastating February 6 earthquakes in parts of Turkey and Syria, Syrian refugees settled in Turkey are questioning their future. Many have lost everything they built over the past ten years. Some, like Muhammad and his family, have chosen to return to Syria. Despite the ongoing bombing of their hometown Idlib, they hope to find solace in the company of their family members.

The story of Keda and his two-year-long journey to help family

The 28 unaccompanied minors on the Emergency-run Life Support ship that reached the port of Civitavecchia near Rome on February 19 included Keda, 16. He left Nigeria when he was 14 to help his poverty-stricken family.

The story of Ibrahima: From migrant to delegate in transit center

Malian migrant Ibrahima has been chosen as a delegate of his country in a transit center managed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Agadez, a city of Niger in the heart of the Sahara desert.

Fawwaz' story: The tragedy of a Syrian killed by those who should have protected him

The tragic story of Fawwaz as told by his relatives to ANSA bears many similarities to that of many Syrians, betrayed and cheated by human smugglers and soldiers when crossing borders.

Richie Nath: Painting against the Burmese military dictatorship

Richie Nath is 27-year-old painter who fled Myanmar after the 2021 military coup. He is now a refugee in Paris where he continues to paint artworks criticizing the Burmese military junta's brutal repression of dissent. Rights groups and investigative media have documented Myanmar's systematic killing, enforced disappearance, torture, rape and other sexual violence against protesters since the coup and the country's continued ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas since 2012.

Leprince: 'Sometimes it's harder here in Cyprus than in Cameroon'

Leprince* fled Cameroon for Cyprus, where he landed by plane in 2019. Since then, he has started a family but the living conditions of asylum seekers on the island make their daily life very difficult. The young Cameroonian admits to sometimes "being on the verge of suicide".

The Escape Diaries: Ghanaian student closes chapter on Ukraine

As the rhetoric heats up, Russian missiles keep falling on Ukrainian cities, making it harder for life to return to normal. For Dorcas, who studied in the Eastern city of Sumy, it is time to move on.

Chazel’s tale: 'I was forced to sign a voluntary return agreement'

Chazel has been in Cyprus for three months. The 24-year-old Congolese asylum seeker is waiting with anguish to be deported. Authorities accuse him of taking part in a riot that broke out in the Pournara camp in October. This is his story.

The Escape Diaries: 'There's light at the end of the tunnel'

When Nigerian student Collins Okoro arrived in Germany from Ukraine, he was faced with so many bureaucratic difficulties as well as finding a place to live. Here he recounts the highs and lows of his first few months: