An 11-year-old refugee boy from Afghanisan, Amir, will carry the Greek flag in his school's upcoming annual parade as part of the country's "Ochi Day" celebrations on October 28. Amir is a fifth-year primary school Afghan pupil living in the central Athens suburb of Dafni.
Amir was selected in a draw as part of a new process brought in by the leftist government Syriza to replace the old method of selecting pupils as flagbearers based on academic merit.The annual parade, which commemorates the October 28, 1940 anniversary of Greece's decision to refuse to become an ally of the Axis powers in World War II, takes place in all schools nationwide. Amir arrived in Greece one-and-a-half years ago after fleeing Afghanistan with his mother and two brothers. His father is currently waiting to be reunited with them in Germany.
"I am very proud to be the one to hold the flag, it has amazing colours; and I'm happy to be able to to take part along with my classmates," he told reporters."I didn't even know that I was involved in the process, they just told me that my name came out. I am very happy that I will be part of it all," he added. Amir's mother, Arizus, was delighted that her son would be given such an honor. "I was so happy when we found out the news. I really did not know what to say or what to do," she said. "In Afghanistan we do not have such student parades so this is all going to be a new experience for all of us." 'Things are much better here', he says
Amir and his family first arrived on Lesvos before being moved to one of the many hostels in Athens which have been set up to accommodate refugees and migrants and entered the state-run schooling program."The situation in Afghanistan is not good at all; we have war, especially in the region where we lived - I don't like war. Things are better here," said Amir. Asked what he wanted to do when he is older, Amir said that he wants to study to become a dentist, while his favorite lesson is Greek."The lessons at school are nice, they are not difficult. My favorite is the Greek language," he said. "I like it because it's easy and I want to be able to know it well so I can talk with my friends." Efforts to reunite the family have so far been unsuccessful.Amir said he was very keen to see his father again, but hopes that even if he goes to Germany, that one day the family will return again to Greece."If it was up to me, I would like to stay here. Maybe I'll be in Germany for a while, but then I'll be back," he said.