Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
April 7, 2016
Lithuania took in a young Afghan migrant who worked as an interpreter for Lithuanian troops in Afghanistan after he reached out for help on YouTube.
Lithuania provided Abdul Basir Yoususi with a temporary visa that paves the way for asylum for himself, his wife, and daughter, and had him flewn to Vilnius on April 6.
“I heard Germany has a lot of money, but I want to be in Lithuania. I speak the language,” Yoususi, 22, said after his plane landed.
He said he never wants to return to Afghanistan because he received threatening letters after the departure of the troops he aided. That prompted him to set out on a two-month journey to Greece that cost around $6,500.
Lithuania has agreed to take in 1,105 migrants over two years under an European Union plan to resettle asylum-seekers among the bloc’s 28 members.
Many of the million migrants who sought to enter Europe last year were from Afghanistan.
Based on reporting by AP and AFP
Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
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