Blue Jay Exchange CIC

Tesfay: My Story

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Tesfay shares his extraordinary journey across Ethiopia, Sudan, Libya, Italy and France; from a childhood in Eritrea through nine years in Birmingham, UK living without the right to work, to finally being granted asylum. He describes the relief and joy of status as like a tree “blossoming” after a long winter. Ever-energetic and proactive, Tesfay kept moving forward, enrolling in college courses, learning bike mechanics, volunteering, and running, which supported his mental health and led him to a solicitor who championed his case. The story unfolds through conversations with friends who becam...

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Blue Jay Exchange CIC

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ከኤርትራ ወደ ነፃነት፡ የተስፋይ ጉዞ 06.05.2026 46:20

ተስፋይ በዚ ሓይሊ ምኽንያት እዚ ኣብ 10 ዓመት ዕድሚኡ ኤርትራን ንሃገሩን ኣብ ውሽጢ ሃገር ዝርከቡ ኣሕዋትን ኣሓትን ኣሕዋትናን ኣሓትናን ኣሕዋትናን ኣሓትናን ኣሕዋትናን ኣሓትናን ኣሕዋትናን ኣሓትናን ኣሕዋትናን ኣሓትናን ንሕና ኢና። በቤት ውስጥ በተሠሩ ኳሶች እግር ኳስ እንደመጫወት ያሉ ቀላል የደስታ ትዝታዎችን ያካፍላል፤ ከዚህ በፊት ባልታወቁ ሰዎች በመኪና እንደወሰዱት (ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ ያየውን) እና በኢትዮጵያ ከተማ ጎዳናዎች ላይ ለሶስት ቀናት ያህል ታግዶ መቆየቱን ከመግለጹ በፊት። አምስት አመታትን ያሳለፈው እንደ ልጅ ሳይሆን እንደ ቤተሰብ እርዳታ፣ ትምህርትን በመከልከል እና መሰረታዊ ጫማዎችን አድርጎ ከወሰደው ቤተሰብ...

Finding Refuge 05.05.2026 38:30

In this moving episode, we sit down with Tesfay, an Eritrean refugee, and Rose, the friend who became his chosen family, to hear the incredible story of how a chance encounter changed both of their lives. Meeting at a community cooking session in 2019, the two struck up an unlikely friendship built on humour and a shared willingness to connect. When Rose, a former swimming instructor, offered to t...

The Journey Part 1 05.05.2026 57:08

In this powerful episode, Tesfay courageously recounts his harrowing past, beginning with leaving Eritrea at the tender age of ten. He shares memories of simple joys like playing football with homemade balls, before describing being taken away by unknown men in a car (the first he'd ever seen) and being left stranded for three days on the streets of an Ethiopian city. He spent five years with a fa...