Reza: Refugee

Refugee, Afghanistan

'Your house, your country, your story are within you if you let them enter. Wherever you are they follow you,' he told me. Then with a sigh, his eyes gazing at the Afghan mountains, he admitted that he would not be able to survive without seeing his land every day. He had fled the war, leaving his village and his past behind, and had settled with his loved-ones not far from the border. He had waved the caravan to stop in this place. He said he would go no further, that they would make camp, and his decision was final. Nobody dared contradict the elder, the wise man, and life was organized accordingly. He spent his days reading the Koran or poetry.

Reference: Reza.

I can only imagine the arduous journey and pervasive uncertainty that refugees face.  This wise, elderly man apparently would have neither of this, and staked out his comfort and mooring.