The Lightless Sky by Gulwali Passarlay

Gulwali Passarlay spoke at our 2024 National Conference.

Gulwali Passarlay was sent away from Afghanistan at the age of twelve, after his father was killed in a gun battle with the US army. Smuggled into Iran, Gulwali embarked on a twelve-month odyssey across Europe, spending time in prisons, suffering hunger, cruelty, and violence. Like so many of the migrants we hear about, he endured a terrifying, life-threatening journey on a tiny boat in the Mediterranean, braved the brutality of those who should care for children, and spent a desolate month in the camp at Calais. Somehow he survived, and made it to Britain, no longer an innocent child but still a young boy alone.