The Black Route

There are a few people I've met at the College of Education where I work who volunteer to teach English to Afghani children and other Middle Easterners who have come to Austria to seek asylum. A few months ago I tutored a brilliant 17-year old boy who fled from Iran to Austria in 2012 and has been studying and living in Linz ever since. He learned near perfect German within these past three years and his English was excellent as well. This month he will have taken his final exam to graduate high school so that he can go onto college to pursue his dream of medicine. I know he must have scored well on the exam and am excited for his future prospects.

I haven't learned a whole lot about all of the asylum seekers and immigration aside from what's in the news. The stories interest me, particularly since I have never lived in a city where asylum seekers live; it's a very intriguing and curious feeling. So today I came across an article that gives a glimpse into the story of an asylum-seeking family's route from Syria to Austria via the "Black Route". Although the story only scratches the surface, it's a peek into a current issue that is very much alive and controversial in both America and Europe: immigrants risking their lives to escape war or to pursue a safe, prosperous future.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/world/exodus/black-route/