Irish conflict was most ‘fertile period’
11 Jul 2014 An inspirational refugee, who escaped war-torn Afghanistan to eventually start a degree at The University of Manchester, has made his TEDx debut. Gulwali Passarlay, 19, fled for his life and travelled through eight countries with just the clothes on his back to endure a year of solitary hardship on the road. He is about to enter his second year of his BA in Politics and Philosophy. TEDx was created in the spirit of the acclaimed TED talk's mission, "ideas worth spreading." It supports independent organizers who want to create a TED-like event in their own community. Faced in 2006 with the prospect of being either forced to join the Taliban or the NATO-backed Afghan army, Gulwali's mother urged the 12-year-old to make his way to England. After months of hunger, illness, loneliness, and a terrifying 50-hour sea crossing crammed below deck without food or drink with 100 other refugees, in a space designed for 20, he finally made it to the country of his dreams. A terrifying motorway journey clinging to a hot engine inside a lorry was just as frightening, on his quest to get to England.
