Ma'ida wanted to become an astronaut and had even written to NASA. The seemingly impossible dream of the 17-year-old Afghan girl was far from her reach, but her aspirations were strong.
Even when the Taliban seized power in August 2021 and her family fled Afghanistan to Iran, Ma'ida refused to abandon her dream. Her desire was to reach Europe and continue her education. She made the decision to leave Turkey by sea and take the risky journey across the ocean.
Her mother was worried about her decision, but Ma'ida was determined. Her mother says, "I told her, 'Go, my daughter, God is your protector.' I am her mother, I raised her, she was capable."
Ma'ida was one of the 200 people who started their journey on a wooden boat from Turkey to Italy on February 22, 2022. Four days later, the boat crashed near the coast of Crotona, Italy, and at least 70 people lost their lives, including Ma'ida. Her body has yet to be found.
"Hi mom, hope you're well, I'm fine and happy too, I'm still on the boat and we'll be off the coast of Italy in the next 30 minutes." This was the last voice message Maida sent to her mother Mehtab. In the background of this message, the sound of the boat engine and the waves of the sea can be heard. After that, he received a text message. "Dear mother, I am almost in Italy and will be off the boat soon, I am well and happy, don't worry.
Usually young girls rarely travel alone because the risks are too great, but Mehtab says her eldest daughter was very determined.
Seven months ago, Maida was shot while crossing the border from Iran to Turkey. The fact is that he had a bullet in his leg for 10 days but he continued his journey and did not give up.
Her family says that Maida made several attempts to reach Europe.
"I was worried about him and I asked him to come back to Iran," says his mother Mehtab. I said to him, "Aren't you tired of trying to go abroad?
Fatal journey:
For Afghan citizens who want to reach Europe, Turkey is an important route. They either go through the Balkans to reach Europe or take the sea route to countries like Italy.
According to official statistics, in 2022, 13% of asylum requests in the 27-member European Union, Switzerland, and Norway were from Afghan residents.
An Iranian citizen had decided not to make this journey at the last minute.
Saman (pseudonym) says, "We were told that there would be 60 to 70 people on the boat, but at night we were supposed to go from Istanbul to Izmir by truck, and we felt that there were at least 117 people there, most of whom were Afghan families."
They say, "This is like a terrible nightmare. I still can't believe it. How did I survive this accident? I don't trust anything anymore. Life is meaningless."
Two survivors of this incident told BBC that shortly after leaving the Turkish coast, the boat broke down. Smugglers had sent another boat and transferred people to it.
In this incident, another Afghan citizen, Miraj, who survived, says that the sea journey was difficult and dangerous, but as soon as the passengers on the boat reached the coast of Italy, they were very excited.
"Another boat came close to us and shone its lights on our boat. Our boat's captain panicked and tried to turn the boat quickly to the other side," they say.
During this time, our boat turned three circles, the first circle was made, then the second circle was made, and during the third circle, our boat collided with something and broke into two parts. The children and women were in the lower part of the boat, while the men and those who left their country alone were in the upper part of the boat."
"I remember that the boat started filling with water and it reached my neck, and I smelled oil and became unconscious. I don't remember what happened after that," they say.
Miraj was thrown on the shore by the sea waves and is one of the 80 survivors of this incident, but their relatives who were on the boat do not know their fate.
Italian authorities have arrested three people, including one Turkish citizen and two Pakistanis, who are believed to be the captain of the boat.
Italian police estimate that each person paid $8,500 to board the boat.
Monitoring groups keeping an eye on the arrival of refugees say that from 2014 to now, nearly 20,000 people have died or disappeared in the Central Mediterranean.
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