Payman is 20, from Kurdistan and speaks Kurdish, Arabic, English and Turkish. He has been on Katsikas camp for 5 months with his mother and 2 of his sisters. Before that they were 7 months in Moria camp.
His other sister is in Athens while his brother and father are still in Kurdistan.
He was a student in Duhok and at nights would help at his brother’s carpentry business
On leaving Kurdistan: ‘In Duhok – no jobs, no electricity, no gas. Fighting has finished but there is nothing. But nothing in Greece – no work. Only sleep.’
On Refugee Support ‘if not for Refugee Support there would be no food, where would we get food (from)? Refugee Support is very good – no worries about money, we can get food and have no problem. Every week when you give us points, it’s very good. Greece is crazy, they give us nothing, but here we have food – if not there would be pain everyday.’
When asked the question: Where in Europe do you want to go? His answer: ‘anywhere with football’.
On the future: he wants to go back to Kurdistan because his father and brother are there. His brother tried to escape but was put in prison by Turkish police for 20 days then got sent back to Kurdistan.
When asked about his dream job : ‘My dream is only to leave Greece, to get out’.
