Expecting

Afghan Jawed met Kosovar Dashurije at the refugee center in Brussels. Since then, they've only had each other as they fight their long battle for a residence permit. After a 19-day hunger strike, Jawed got permission to remain in Belgium for six months. And now Dashurije is pregnant, and the young couple has been waiting for months for word on their extension. It seems like life as illegal immigrants might be even harder than the life they fled. Jawed came to Europe when he was 16, tied under a truck. Dashurije could hardly believe it when she heard this, but now it looks likely that his greatest ordeal is yet to come. He's in debt with the hospital because of his hunger strike, but they don't even have enough money for food. The food parcels they get every two weeks contain barely enough for four days. But the worst thing is the waiting for their permits, says Dashurije: "It does your head in." The huge stress even affects their relationship. Their son's fate is uncertain as well, because they've found out that after he's born, they won't even be getting any help for him.