Hi everyone, I am Aleks, a shoe designer and an animal activist that happened to transform into a humanitarian worker while in shock of the immense human suffering happening trough the Balkans in early 2015. In the moment I work with a local CSO called Legis, coordinating humanitarian operations in Macedonia. There is not much to say about myself and I really don’t like to talk about myself; I am blond 🙂 I like to learn and discover new things. I like to take action and do work that benefits society or people in need. Somehow I manage to be creative in solving problems and I don’t believe in the impossible. As I’ve seen it many times during the last few years, much good can be done if we put our minds and skills together and just start doing it. I look forward in meeting everyone as well as seeing the few familiar faces on this journey.
Afghan friend from SecondHome
He was pushed and pulled across borders, imprisoned in almost every country he passed through on the Balkan Route. Now he is living paperless in Slovenia, like a ghost, hoping he won’t return to detention or get pushed back again. He remembers Macedonia, and the detention center GaziBaba. He said it was like being in a hotel, after spending months sleeping open air and finding creative ways to eat and live. Hardworking he seems, as I never saw him just sitting around and wasting time. Smart in a way I never had to be because life offered different opportunities for me. He is young, in his 20ties, but you can clearly see the hardships of life on his face and even more so in his eyes. Now he found #SecondHome, but he lives with complete uncertainty for his future. And even though we shared the same space and the same food, and we even became friends, we live in completely different realities, one of hiding, detention, violence, discrimination for him, and one of false freedom and equality for me.
