“I knew that it would be impossible to change them, so I decided to change my own situation”
Text and photo by Emma E. Petersen
Ihtisham is a man rich on experiences. At an early age, he started exploring when he began his walk from Asia to Europe; a walk that changed his life forever. He was born and raised in Pakistan, where he lived a good life. However, by the time he turned nineteen, Ihtisham began to question the meaning of life.
"I was very successful in Pakistan but somehow it didn’t feel comfortable there. It was very dirty there, the air was polluted and there were to many contradictions in the society"
About 200 million people reside in Pakistan; he didn’t feel like it was the right place for him. He didn’t think that he would be able to change the people or the country that he felt so stuck within.
"I knew that it would be impossible to change them, so I decided to change my own situation."
One day, Ihtisham decided to make a drastic change in his life. He decided that it was time to leave Pakistan, which is when he stared his journey to Europe on foot. Approximately one year after starting his journey and passing through several countries and landscapes, he set foot on the ground of Austria. The long journey had been extremely tough on his body so he stayed in Austria for four months and received medical help in order to recover from this journey. After that, he was able to obtain a residence permit in Europe.
"The reason why I made it, is because of the fact, that I believed and still do believe that if you want to make a change, then you have to start with yourself."
On his way, Ihtisham met a lot of refugees all facing different challenges. He listened to them and tried to keep their head up even though they were facing a very challenging time in their lives. One of the main things he did was to spread the word about making changes. This was the idea that if you want to make a change, you have to start from within.
"I have always wanted to help other people. That I got from my mother back home in Pakistan, nature shaped her that way and she raised me in the same spirit. A spirit I will never let go of."
After he obtained the permit to stay in Europe, he moved to the Netherlands where he started a new life, which was not to be compared with the life he had lived in Pakistan. Ihtisham lived in the Netherlands for five years and then moved to Iceland, where he has now resided for the past 13 years. He has no plans of leaving as of right now, and to this day, he is still helping other people, while spreading the message that;
"You can help people and guide them towards the right direction, but only oneself is able to make the actions which will make the efficient change.”