Political Refugee

-Name- Ahferom

-From- Segheneity, Eritrea

-Age- 44

-Past occupation- Farmer and Soldier

-What happened to make you leave- My country is lead by a dictator who assassinates anyone seen as a threat. As a soldier I was in great danger. I decided to leave instead of die. In 2003 I left for Sudan which is where I wanted to settle but I soon saw that even there it wasn't safe. Eritrian officials were coming across the border to find escapees, take them home and assassinate them. I had to move on.

-How did you travel to Italy- With 27 people on the back of a toyota ute we travelled through the Sahara dessert for 7 days. I arrived in Libya and was put into jail. In 2003 it wasn't as bad as it is now. There was less corruption in Libya but it was still bad. We were treated like animals. I contacted some human traffickers and they gave me a deal that if I found 10 people to come on the boat to Italy I could go for free. I was very lucky. Now many people pay their money, are taken to the beach, and the traffickers run away.

After reaching Italy I lived in Switzerland for 4 years where I met my wife who was originally a friend from my home town. We have 2 children and now my refugee status has been denied so they have transferred me back to Italy.

*The Dublin Regulation est 1990 states 'When no family or humanitarian reasons are present in the asylum application, the first member state that the asylum seeker entered is responsible for that person'. Dublin III est 2014 has some slight changes and will hopefully begin to sort out some of the issues we are seeing in Italy that comes with such an influx of people to an already struggling system.

These interviews are research towards the upcoming, zero waste swimwear collection by emroce. The collection will speak of the refugee crisis here in Italy in the hopes of getting some real information across and to inspire the Italiani to feel more proud of their situation to help. The collection will be displayed in art galleries in Milano and Como See past zero waste collections by emroce...