Afghan girl who walked to Turkey finally reaches Norway

ISTANBUL

A teenage Afghan girl who took a perilous 4,000-kilometer-long journey on foot for seven months to reach Turkey now lives in Norway.

The daring and challenging journey of Aza, a 16-year-old girl at that time, began from her motherland, Afghanistan, seeking a better life in European countries.

Leaving behind her mother in tears, she set out with a few friends before sunrise.

She finally arrived in Turkey’s eastern province of Van after seven months of walking, staying in the cold and desolate caves at night at the risk of death and rape.

But she was apprehended by the Turkish security forces after crossing the border.

Placed in a nursing home with a few migrant girls like her, the fate of Aza was changed with an invitation of Van Governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez and his wife, Meral Bilmez.

Aza told Meral Bilmez that she had heard the story of a woman going to Norway and that she had a similar dream, adding that she was afraid of death every day while living in Afghanistan.

Subsequently, the Bilmez couple decided to contact international organizations for the Afghan girl and a series of meetings and correspondences were made in this context.

After a while, the long-awaited news that would make Aza’s dream come true reached Van. She now lives in Norway, according to Hürriyet Daily columnist Fatih Çekirge.

However, the difficult journeys of irregular migrants, who hit the roads for a better life in Europe after paying thousands of dollars to human smugglers, continue with the danger of death.

In 2021, 14,300 irregular migrants and 500 human traffickers, who entered the country illegally, were apprehended only in Van. Some 150 derelict buildings used by smugglers as illegal accommodation were also demolished.