Shamsullah Ajad is a 16-year-old migrant from Kunduz in northern Afghanistan. InfoMigrants met him as he was collecting his belongings from a tent in the former Moria camp, where most structures have been destroyed by fire.
"I did my asylum interview two months ago and I was told I would get an answer on September 14. But the Moria camp was destroyed by fire last week and I don't know where to get the result of my asylum request.
I'm 16 years old, but authorities don't acknowledge the fact that I'm underage. When I first arrived in Lesbos, I didn't have any ID on me. Later, I received a letter from Afghanistan with documents showing I was a minor. But it was too late because I had already been registered as an adult.
I was the only underage person among the ten people who used to live in this tent. I have been stranded in Lesbos for 11 months. I have an uncle in Germany and a cousin in France but I'm not the one deciding where I will be sent. I will follow what authorities decide for me.
I remember when the blaze started, around 11 p.m. on the night between the 8th and 9th of September. I was in the tent and
suddenly we saw five-meter-high flames. We were very scared and we ran away immediately.
Now I'm sleeping near the Lidl parking lot on the coastal road below. Our tent didn't completely burn so I came back to retrieve some of my belongings. Today I came to get a blanket because it gets cold when you sleep outside.
I don't know if I will go in the new temporary
camp. Some migrants say that if you go inside, you can't leave anymore. Also
I'm not sure I would be allowed in because I've heard the new camp was only for
families*"
[*A spokeperson for the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum said that "vulnerable" people would be given priority in the new
camp.]