Zahir, a 28-year-old Afghan migrant who has been living in Greece since 2006.Born in Afghanistan in an era of warfare and upheaval, Zahir’s parents decided to send him at the age of 11 illegally to Iran, in order to save him from the conflict that was raging in their country.There, Zahir found work as a builder and as a laborer in different factories despite having no documentation. The police finally tracked him down — and ended up torturing him in an unspeakable manner.
”They were tying my hands with a rope and then they were cutting my arms so that I hurt even more.” he told the judges.He somehow managed to earn the money which gave him the chance to come to Europe.”I wanted to come to Europe to study and be able to love what I am doing” he said, adding that ”sometimes I was thinking, why am I suffering so much, I could just stay in Afghanistan and get killed”.
But he never stopped trying.He also shared that he encountered racism while in Greece, but despite that obstacle, he never gave up. He pursued his dreams, and reaching the competition level in one of the biggest cooking shows on Earth.
Zahir states that now, what he really would like to do is see his mother again. They haven’t seen each other since the year 2000, when Zahir fled to Iran, at the beginning of his long and grueling odyssey.
