For Afghan actor-turned-refugee, survival is toughest role

For Afghan actor-turned-refugee, survival is toughest role

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Talibshah Hosini played some tough roles as an actor in Afghanistan before he fled. None was as hard as his real-life fight for survival in a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.

. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis
Talibshah shows a picture of himself acting in an Afghan film.

The 35-year-old from Faryab province in Afghanistan left a career in theatre and film in his home country and now spends his days trying to keep his family safe in a makeshift shack made of pieces of wood and metal.

"In the 18 years since I became part of the cinema, I have played many tough roles, but this role is the most difficult one," he said.

. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis
Talibshah's daughter Parisa runs outside a temporary shelter that she and her family currently live in.

Forced to flee after receiving threats for staging satires at his theatre company that focused on the hardline Islamist Taliban movement, his journey with his wife and three daughters took them to Iran, then to Turkey and eventually Greece.

Hosini built a shelter in an olive grove next to the official Moria camp. The grove itself has become a tent city after Moria overflowed.

. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis
Talibshah and Yasamin cook dinner outside their shelter.

He and his wife Yasamin wake up before dawn and enter Moria, taking turns to wait in line for three hours to receive meals.

The food is not enough for the family of five, so they cook for themselves on a stove made from an empty can filled with charcoal and wood.

. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis
Talibshah's daughter Marjan warms up her hands over hot coal.

Afraid of being robbed or hurt, they spend most of the time in their shelter.

"We have seen things that should not be spoken of. I myself can't sleep at night, just in case someone walks into the tent with a knife and stabs me, god forbid, (or) does something awful to my wife," Hosini said.

"I don't trust anyone, not even our neighbours, because they change all the time."

. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis
Talibshah stands with his daughters Farima and Marjan outside their shelter.

The couple will not let their daughters Farima, 9, Parisa, 6, and Marjan, 3, venture out of the shelter alone, fearing they will be assaulted or kidnapped.

. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis
Farima poses for a photograph.

Hosini said the girls suffered from depression.

"Their behaviour has changed, their spirit has changed, their way of thinking has been changed."

. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis
Talibshah prays inside his shelter.

His family's asylum interview is not for another year-and-a-half. Tears well up in his eyes when he is asked what he will do if the application is rejected.

"It is hard to say, very hard to say because if our case isn't accepted here and we have to go back to Afghanistan, what will I do in Afghanistan? If we go back my children's futures are ruined," he said through tears.

. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis
A man sits outside his temporary shelter.

This family's asylum request is one of tens of thousands backed up in Greece. In Moria camp, more than 19,000 live in a space built for 3,000.

There have been attempted suicides, fights that end in injuries and self-harming. Deaths from attacks and accidents have also occurred. The camps are overflowing with garbage and the portable toilets are filthy.

. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis
Talibshah practices kung fu.

There is not much to do, said Hosini. He practises kung fu to keep himself fit, living with the hope that one day he will return to his profession as an actor when he leaves Lesbos.

. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis
Yasamin sits inside the shelter.

His wife Yasamin said she dreamt of a normal life. When asked what she wished for most, she replied:

"For calm. Just a quiet area where we can feel human too. We don't have any peace, not at night, or in the day. Just that."

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Slideshow

Farima reacts after receiving results for an English exam she took, outside a makeshift school.
. Lesbos, GREECE. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis

Farima reacts after receiving results for an English exam she took, outside a makeshift school.

Farima attends an English class inside a makeshift school.
. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis

Farima attends an English class inside a makeshift school.

Drawings are stuck up inside the Hosini's shelter.
. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis

Drawings are stuck up inside the Hosini's shelter.

Marjan hugs her sister Farima inside their shelter.
. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis

Marjan hugs her sister Farima inside their shelter.

Yasamin sits next to her three daughters while putting them to bed inside their shelter.
. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis

Yasamin sits next to her three daughters while putting them to bed inside their shelter.

Smoke from bonfires rises from a makeshift camp for refugees and migrants and the Moria camp.
. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis

Smoke from bonfires rises from a makeshift camp for refugees and migrants and the Moria camp.

Yasamin cooks dinner outside the shelter.
. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis

Yasamin cooks dinner outside the shelter.

The Hosini family eat lunch.
. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis

The Hosini family eat lunch.

The Hosini family stand outside their shelter.
. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis

The Hosini family stand outside their shelter.

Farima and her sisters Marjan and Parisa play outside their shelter.
. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis

Farima and her sisters Marjan and Parisa play outside their shelter.

The Hosini family and their friends enjoy a picnic in front of olive groves near the Moria camp.
. Lesbos, Greece. Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis

The Hosini family and their friends enjoy a picnic in front of olive groves near the Moria camp.