A refugee who fled Ethiopia after a decade-long journey to find safety is this weekend hoping he can beat the record set by Sir Mo Farah in the Antrim Coast Half Marathon.
Eskander Turki, found a new life in Belfast in 2019 and also astonishing success as a cross-country runner now competing for Northern Ireland at an elite level. Running has given Eskander a strong focus and he says is excited to continue racing for the Northern Ireland, stating that the sport has helped him in many ways.
Eskander ran for an hour in total darkness the night the military burned down his family home. His mother had told him to run to her brother’s house to find refuge: the military had already come in the night and killed his father and his brother, and he was likely to be in similar danger. That night, the military forced his mother to sign over ownership of their family farm to the state.
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He had been imprisoned for four months in an underground prison in Ethiopia without his family’s knowledge, almost 100 miles away from their farmstead in Dima. Eskander had been taking part in a student protest at the technical college where he was studying electrical engineering when the military opened fire on protestors. Eskander was one of 40-50 students who were arrested and taken to a military camp, before he was sent to the underground prison where he was beaten with sticks, cut with knives and tortured with hot metal bars.
The following year, 2011, after he’d lived in hiding with his uncle for five months, his mother sold her possessions to raise funds for Eskander to escape Ethiopia to the relative safety of South Sudan.
In April 2011, he left Ethiopia which was only the beginning of a decade of turmoil that saw the teenage college student progress through his twenties working for two years without pay on a building site in Sudan, imprisoned in Libya by people smugglers, crossing the Mediterranean in a plastic dinghy, being subjected to a brutal assault by a group of men in Italy, living in a bus station near Milan and spending time in Direct Provision in Monaghan before finally boarding a bus to seek a new life of safety in Belfast in April 2019.
After he arrived in Northern Ireland, a doctor suggested that running would be a good way of helping to manage the trauma of his experiences, training and living in Monaghan, he has since won many races as part of the Annadale Striders Running Club. The medals and trophies he won adorn his bedside table in his room in Stranmillis, along with newspaper cuttings about his athletic achievements.
"Ten years ago I could not imagine the life I have today. The support and community I have found in the UK, through Migrant Help and in my running have helped me to heal from the trauma of my past, he said.
"I was forced to run from my home and leave my family behind in Ethiopia, fearing for my life and searching for safety. Now, my running has saved me in many more ways, I have found new hope for my future - starting a family with my wife Amina, following a new career path and racing for the Northern Ireland Team," he added.
Michael McKnight, Eskander’s Coach from Annadale Striders Athletics club, says: “Eskander’s achievements are amazing given the challenges he has had to overcome over the past decade. He is a wonderful example of how the human spirit can triumph over the odds and he inspires everyone who has the privilege of knowing him.”
Orla Gardiner, Eskander’s Case Work at Migrant Help said: "Eskander is an extraordinary young man. He came to our notice back in 2019 on his arrival to Northern Ireland. What he has faced, overcome and achieved throughout his life is truly remarkable, a real inspiration! The Migrant Help team in Belfast are delighted for him, we have followed his journey with keen interest. The team and the wider Northern Ireland community are so very proud of this young man, recognition of his journey of healing through this stunning piece art is so very well deserved! “
Caroline O’Connor, CEO at Migrant Help added: "We’re honoured to be able to work with Eskander to bring his story to life in a unique and powerful way that compels people to take a moment to consider the harrowing situations so many refugees in the UK have experienced. Through showing that we all share the same dreams, hopes and ambitions, we hope to be able to create greater understanding and a more welcoming environment in this country.”
Eskander’s running talent has this year earned him a place on the Northern Ireland and Ulster athletics team. Competing in the team colours of his new home for several races already he recently led the NI & Ulster team to a magnificent silver medal in the British Inter Counties Cross Country Championships.
In August, he will make his track debut over 10000m in the NI champs and in the Antrim Coast Half marathon as part of the elite field, a world class event which will see Eskander compete against some of the world’s top runners including Mo Farah. Last year Eskander was married, his wife Amina is expecting their first child at the end of summer 2022.
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