ተስፋይ በዚ ሓይሊ ምኽንያት እዚ ኣብ 10 ዓመት ዕድሚኡ ኤርትራን ንሃገሩን ኣብ ውሽጢ ሃገር ዝርከቡ ኣሕዋትን ኣሓትን ኣሕዋትናን ኣሓትናን ኣሕዋትናን ኣሓትናን ኣሕዋትናን ኣሓትናን ኣሕዋትናን ኣሓትናን ኣሕዋትናን ኣሓትናን ንሕና ኢና። በቤት ውስጥ በተሠሩ ኳሶች እግር ኳስ እንደመጫወት ያሉ ቀላል የደስታ ትዝታዎችን ያካፍላል፤ ከዚህ በፊት ባልታወቁ ሰዎች በመኪና እንደወሰዱት (ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ ያየውን) እና በኢትዮጵያ ከተማ ጎዳናዎች ላይ ለሶስት ቀናት ያህል ታግዶ መቆየቱን ከመግለጹ በፊት። አምስት አመታትን ያሳለፈው እንደ ልጅ ሳይሆን እንደ ቤተሰብ እርዳታ፣ ትምህርትን በመከልከል እና መሰረታዊ ጫማዎችን አድርጎ ከወሰደው ቤተሰብ ጋር ነው።

በ15 አመቱ ተስፋይ ለማምለጥ ደፋር ውሳኔ አደረገ፣ በአህጉራት አቋርጦ አደገኛ ጉዞ ጀመረ። ወደ ሱዳን ድንበር በሚወስደው አውቶቡስ ውስጥ ተደብቆ፣ ከፓስፖርት ፍተሻ በመሸሽ እና ሰፊውን የካርቱም ከተማን በማሰስ ከሌሎች ኤርትራውያን ስደተኞች ጋር መፅናናትን እና ማህበረሰብን እንዳገኘ ይገልጻል። የግዳጅ ውትድርና ለውትድርና መግባቱ አስከፊ እውነታ ወደ ቤት መመለስ የማይቻል እንዲሆን አድርጎታል፣ ይህም የሚያሰቃየውን ግንዛቤ ወደፊት መንገዱን ያጠናከረው። ለአንድ አመት የወለል ንጣፍ ሥራ ተቋራጭ ደመወዝ ሳይከፍል ስለመሥራት እና እሱን ወደ ሌላ ሃይማኖት ለማስገደድ የተደረገው ሙከራ እና ከራሱ ጋር ታማኝ ሆኖ ለመቆየት ያለውን ቁርጠኝነት ያጠናክራል።

ከዚያም ጉዞው ወደ አስፈሪው የሰሃራ በረሃ በጭነት መሻገሪያ ደረሰ። በተጨናነቀ መኪና ውስጥ የበለጠ ምቹ ቦታ ለማግኘት በመሞከሩ በሰይፍ መመታቱን በግልፅ ያስታውሳል። ጉዳዩ የሚያጠናቅቀው በሊቢያ የአምስት ወራት እስራት ሲሆን ሰዎች የሚነግዱበት፣ በባርነት የሚታሰሩበት እና አስገድዶ መድፈርን ጨምሮ በቃላት ሊገለጽ የማይችል ግፍ የሚፈጸምበት ነው። ተስፋይ በተዘበራረቀ መዘናጋት ውስጥ ባለ 8 ጫማ ግድግዳ በማሳረፍ ከእስር ቤት ያመለጠውን ድፍረት ይናገራል። የሱ ታሪክ የሚያበቃው በሊቢያ ባህር ዳርቻ በደረሰ በባሕር ፍራቻ ተሞልቶ ሌሎች ተስፋ የቆረጡ መንገደኞችን አግኝቶ ወደ አውሮፓ ለሚደረገው አደገኛ ጉዞ ሲዘጋጁ ያገኘው ሲሆን ይህም የነጻነት ትግሉን ቀጣይ ምዕራፍ መጀመሩን ያሳያል።

www.bluejayexchange.uk

email: info@bluejayexchange.co.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this moving episode, we sit down with Tesfay, an Eritrean refugee, and Rose, the friend who became his chosen family, to hear the incredible story of how a chance encounter changed both of their lives. Meeting at a community cooking session in 2019, the two struck up an unlikely friendship built on humour and a shared willingness to connect. When Rose, a former swimming instructor, offered to teach Tasfay how to swim, it unlocked a deep journey of healing. Tesfay opens up about the severe trauma and nightmares he suffered after a terrifying boat escape from Libya, and how learning to swim in a safe, supported environment helped him finally conquer his fear of the water.

The conversation also shines a harsh light on the realities of navigating the UK asylum system. Rose and Tesfay discuss the systemic hurdles he faced—from living on just £40 a week and dealing with dismissive legal representation, to the abrupt, forced relocation to Peterborough by the Home Office. Stripped of his autonomy and treated like a prisoner, Tesfay’s story highlights the isolating and exhausting nature of seeking asylum. Yet, through court denials and stolen bicycles, Tesfay’s resilience shines through. Fuelled by his love for running and the unwavering support of Rose’s family, Tesfay refuses to give up, setting the stage for the next hopeful chapter in his fight to stay in the UK.

Key Themes:

• Overcoming Trauma: How learning to swim helped Tesfay process the PTSD from his dangerous Mediterranean crossing.
• The Power of Community: How Rose and her family stepped in to provide housing, emotional support, and advocacy.
• The Asylum System: A firsthand look at the restrictive, confusing, and often dehumanising process of claiming asylum in the UK.
• Resilience: Tesfay's determination to keep running, building connections, and fighting for his future.

www.bluejayexchange.uk

email: info@bluejayexchange.co.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this powerful episode, Tesfay courageously recounts his harrowing past, beginning with leaving Eritrea at the tender age of ten. He shares memories of simple joys like playing football with homemade balls, before describing being taken away by unknown men in a car (the first he'd ever seen) and being left stranded for three days on the streets of an Ethiopian city. He spent five years with a family who took him in, not as a son, but as unpaid household help, denied schooling and basic shoes.

At 15, Tesfay made the brave decision to escape, embarking on a perilous journey across continents. He describes hiding on a bus to the Sudan border, fleeing from passport checks, and navigating the vast city of Khartoum where he found solace and community among other Eritrean refugees. The harsh reality of forced army conscription made returning home impossible, a painful realisation that solidified his path forward. He speaks of working for a flooring contractor for a year without pay, and the attempts to coerce him into a different religion, reinforcing his determination to stay true to himself.

His journey then escalated to the terrifying crossing of the Sahara Desert by truck, where he witnessed extreme hardship and the threat of violence. He vividly recalls being hit by a sword for trying to find a more comfortable spot in a crowded vehicle. The episode culminates in his five-month imprisonment in Libya, a place where people are trafficked, enslaved, and face unspeakable atrocities, including rape. Tesfay recounts his daring escape from prison by scaling an 8-foot wall amidst a chaotic distraction. His story concludes with his arrival at the Libyan coast, filled with fear of the sea, where he found other desperate travellers preparing for the dangerous journey to Europe, marking the beginning of the next chapter of his fight for freedom.

www.bluejayexchange.uk

email: info@bluejayexchange.co.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.