Mohsen: A teenager on the run, dreaming of Canada
The first time I saw Mohsen, he was taking a shower in the middle of a concrete courtyard at an abandoned factory.
Dressed in a bathing suit and flip flops, the 15-year-old was scrubbing his hair underneath the cold, clear water that ran from a long garden hose held up on a pole. What struck me was how young he looked — and how much he resembled my own teenage son.
Mohsen lives illegally in a factory with dozens of other male teens. All the boys have fled Afghanistan. They are on their own, trying to illegally cross through Europe to get to Germany, Sweden or France, countries where they believe they’ll find a better life. […]