Hamed Amiri was just 10 years old when a warrant was put out for his mother's execution and the family had to flee from their home in Afghanistan. Now, the extraordinary story of the family's escape across over seven countries to Wales and his brother's life-saving heart surgery will be shown at the prestigious National Theatre in London.
Hamed was living with his parents and two brothers, Hussein and Hessam, in 2000 when his mother, Fariba, delivered a stirring speech about women's rights in Afghanistan. Days later, a warrant was issued for her execution and the family knew that they would have to leave.
Hamed turned the story of his family's arduous journey to Wales into a book, The Boy With Two Hearts, which was adapted into a sell-out play at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff last year. In order to reach their new home in Cardiff, Hamed, his parents, and two brothers had to hide in the hidden compartment of a car for days until they reached Moscow. After about six months, the family received a call telling them it was time to move to their next location.
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From there the family went from "jungles" in Ukraine to sleeping with animals in a barn in Poland. They were given fake passports to use to get onto a plane to Austria before travelling through Germany, Belgium, Holland, and France. While their initial attempt to reach the UK was unsuccessful, on their second attempt they were able to reach Margate in Kent on the back of a lorry. The journey had taken 18 months to complete. The family was later granted asylum and settled in Adamsdown in Cardiff. You can read about their full story here.
Now, the story of the family's escape is set to reach even more people as the play is being shown for a six-week run at the National Theatre in London. The play's title, The Boy With Two Hearts, takes its name from Hamed's older brother, Hussein, and his complex congenital heart condition.
While Hussein was able to receive treatment for the condition in the UK - at one point, being the 21st person ever to have a 14-hour procedure called a Fontan conversion - he tragically died aged 31 in 2018 after health complications. To cement his brother's legacy, Hamed decided that he would turn the family's story of their escape and Hussein's subsequent treatment into a book, which was adapted into a sell-out play shown at the Wales Millennium Centre last October.
"It's been unreal, since last year coming to the Wales Millennium Centre to going to the National Theatre. It sounds unreal, but it's happening. I keep having to pinch myself", Hamed told WalesOnline, having just come from a dry-run of the play in Cardiff ahead of the show moving to London.
"It's a story that needs to be shared," he added, saying that he feels "excited" for the upcoming run of the play in London. Hamed said that he found out a few months ago that the National Theatre were interested in running the play, which will see the same cast as its first run at the WMC last year, but with a different actress playing Fariba.
"Not being in the world of theatre, to find out that the National Theatre, one of the biggest, if not the biggest in the UK, wanted to tell my story... I feel really grateful to tell my story and share it with total strangers," Hamed continued, adding that he wants people to take away the message, "Live your life to the fullest, but look out for others". After announcing the death of his brother on social media, Hamed said he was taken aback by the outpouring of messages from those who had known him.
"What I realised is people think the refugee story is the story, but it's a love and a family story celebrating life. The more I watch it and reflect, it's a story to celebrate life," Hamed said of the play. "I get to celebrate my brother's life through this forum. It's celebrating life, family, and brotherhood."
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