I came to Germany on February 7, 2013. I used to live in Afghanistan’s eastern province, Nangarhar, which borders Pakistan. The IS [Islamic State] is currently active there. My family still lives there. I used to work for an NGO as an assistant director after I graduated.  I collected data on blood cancer and thalassemia and conduct surveys in villages, but the Taliban thought we were spying on them.

My home was between Tora Bora and the city [Jalalabad]. There are many terrorist groups active there and you never know who will attack and from where. One evening, I was going home, when two masked men on a motorbike suddenly opened fire on me. Two bullets hit me on the left side of my body. After this incident, they sent me a warning letter.

Shortly after, when I had just returned from the hospital, some men came to our house and began firing. My mother and father and siblings, everyone was at home. We shot back in our defense - everyone there has a weapon to defend themselves because it is a dangerous area.

After that incident, I decided to escape from Afghanistan and come to Europe. I set off for Iran by foot and travelled on to Turkey, where I stayed for a month. I was arrested because I did not have any documents and in those days, governments were unwilling to accommodate refugees. When someone was caught without proper identification, they were sent to jail.

Arman at a prison in Turkey in 2013. Copyright: Arman Khan

I stayed in prison for a month and when I was released, I tried to find a smuggler to take me to Europe. I was arrested and sent to jail again. This time, only for a week. Then one day I was successful and managed to reach Greece. From Greece, I went to Macedonia and Serbia, but they caught me and sent me back. The borders were tightly controlled back then. Then I met a smuggler, who said he could get me a fake passport and send me to Germany by plane. I was lucky, I reached Germany without being caught.

With human smugglers, depending upon the amount of money you are willing to spend, it’s like traveling first class or economy. Those who pay more, get more facilities. They get better food on the way, its more luxurious and they have priority. One spends $7,000- 10,000 on an average to travel from Afghanistan to Europe.

Once I reached here, I applied for asylum. I got my papers in a year and a half, on August 27, 2014 – my birthday.  Now I have a permanent resident permit and my status is that of a refugee. I have a blue passport. I can travel abroad and work here, but I cannot go to Afghanistan. Blue passport holders are considered political refugees.

When I was at university [in Afghanistan], I had done an internship in journalism and radio. I liked this field. But I did my bachelors in administration. Then I started doing internships and met a friend who said he would like to have refugees as reporters on the migrant situation.

Then I joined Refugee TV. The channel is run by David Gross and is based in Vienna. Many NGOs and the government of Austria support it. We do workshops and seminars and I also make documentaries and reports.

I can speak perfect German now and work as a freelancer, but I wouldn't advise anyone to come to Europe through this perilous route. It's not worth it, putting your life in danger.