The Rezai family left Afghanistan in 2013. In Afghanistan, they belonged to the Hazara ethnic minority, who are facing constant atrocities and are often victims of ethnic cleansing. They have two sons, one was born in 2005, the other in 2010. The Rezai family’s situation had gotten worse and worse over time: the father was threatened several times and was fired from his job. At first the family fled to Iran, where they spent one year illegally, without papers. The father worked illegally in a shoe factory and the mother took care of the children.
In 2014, they managed to get to Turkey, where they were settled in a refugee camp. After half a year, they set off for Europe with the help of human smugglers. Relatives of the father live in Switzerland, so that was their destination, as there, they could get help to begin their new life. As they did not have travel documents, the family arrived to Hungary through the green border. They were registered there, but before they could be directed to a refugee camp, they continued their journey to Switzerland. In Switzerland they were registered as asylum-seekers again, and they were settled in a refugee camp. The children started going to kindergarten and school two weeks later, started learning German. The parents waited to receive refugee status and they also learned German. Relatives living there supported the family. After six months, authorities discovered that the family had already been registered in Hungary and started the Dublin procedure. The Swiss authorities contacted Hungarian authorities to send the family back to Hungary. In 2016, the family was sent back to Hungary, and there they received subsidiary protection status. After arriving to the refugee camp in Hungary, the children did not go to kindergarten or school for three months. NGOs and church organizations held activities for the children several days a week, and the children took part in those. The family had to move out of the refugee camp after three months. The children spoke German well, and also a little Turkish, but almost no Hungarian. The father spoke English quite well. After arriving to Budapest, they lived in a temporary shelter for families. The children were enrolled into school and kindergarten with the help of the local social worker. The older one started in the 3rd grade and the younger in kindergarten. They already understood a little Hungarian, but speaking was difficult.
