Ali Ismail: Refugee The Diary Of

I write this to tell you the invention .

"These are Italian," he said. "I saved three years for these. My father never owned leather shoes."

By the time you reach the water, you are a ghost wearing running shoes. refugee the diary of ali ismail

For three years, I was UNHCR Reg. No. 782-09-114. I was a "transit" case. A "vulnerable male." A statistic in a spreadsheet that a caseworker in Geneva closes at 5:00 PM to go home for dinner.

I realized something strange:

We are asking for your .

The engine dies. The sea is black and greedy. I write this to tell you the invention

Note to the reader: This entry was found sealed inside a plastic bag, wedged between the inner and outer hull of a deflated dinghy washed ashore on Lesvos. The ink is smeared, but the pencil marks are legible.