Dawod
Dawod and members of his family were related to the Communist Party of Afghanistan. Fearing harassment and persecution by the mujaheddin, Dawod left Afghanistan in April 2005 and moved to Peshawar (Pakistan) with his wife and children after being repeatedly threatened in his hometown.
Nevertheless, he did not feel safe in Peshawar as a large number of mujaheddin also operated in the area. While still in Pakistan, he was attacked and went into hiding.
Fourteen months after arriving in Peshawar, Dawod decided to try to reach Europe and set off with the help of smugglers. His uncle promised to pay 350.000 toman (roughly 260 Euro) when Dawod would reach a safe haven. Together with others, Davod was smuggled into Turkey through Iran, enduring terrible conditions.
They were all brought to Istanbul, where the smugglers locked them in a basement until they had payed the amount promised. For three and a half months, Davod was held in the basement and was beaten by the smugglers as neither him nor his uncle could pay the debt. He eventually managed to escape but was arrested. He told the Turkish police that he wanted to apply for asylum showing his scars from Afghanistan, but instead they detained him and beat him.
After approximately a fortnight, Davod and others were driven to a detention camp where they remained under surveillance. During the night the guards walked them towards a hill ordering them to continue walking straight ahead until they crossed over the Iranian border. They begged the guards not to shoot because they had been told that this would attract nomadic tribes of Kurds, who often assaulted deportees.
However the Turkish guards did not listen and one hour later a group of armed Kurds attacked Dawod and the others. He managed to escape with seven other people and they surrendered to the police in the Iranian town of Makou. They were once again beaten by the police and eventually sent back to Afghanistan.
(Source: Greek Council for Refugees)