Just Kids (Mensjesrechten)
Under the stars I felt at home
Ilia is homesick, he longs for everything that used to make him beam with pleasure. Even though he was born in the war, his life was almost normal in Afghanistan. He lived in a big house together with his father, mother, brothers and sister. He had many friends, went to school en had money to buy toys. Then the Taliban killed his brother and grandfather. And everything changed forever. Now Ilia is living in the Netherlands, along with his sick mother, in a room as small as a closet. The other family members are not allowed to stay with them. Living in an asylum seekers’ home is downright rotten, Ilia feels. And he wants to show this to other children. He is afraid of being sent back to Afghanistan where the Taliban know where to find him. And he misses his father who is homeless and wandering about. Ilia really wants to see him but how do you do that without money for a train ticket and only very occasionally WiFi?