| 1 | Hemû dû sed metrim faṣile ye le sinûrî Turkiya. | 
|  | In total, I was only two hundred metres away from the border of Turkey. | 
| 2 | Rêk le ser sinûreke ye. | 
|  | It is exactly on the border. | 
| 3 | Qîtar hat û min-îş legeł xełka ser kewtim. | 
|  | The train arrived, and I boarded with the other people. | 
| 4 | Ser kewtim û bilêtfiroş hat. | 
|  | I boarded, and the ticket man came. | 
| 5 | Bilêtfiroş hat û min-îş be bê ewey zor seyrî bikem, zor timeşay kem, pênc hezar Diraxmayiyekim pê da. | 
|  | The ticket man came, and I, without looking much at him, looking much at him, gave five thousand Greek Drachmas to him. | 
| 6 | Ewsa Diraxma bû, hêşta Öyro w ewane ne hatibû. | 
|  | Then it was Drachma, Euro and such things were not out yet. | 
| 7 | Emzanî bilêtî qetar heta Salonîk be sê hezar û çuwar ṣed Diraxma ye. | 
|  | I knew that train ticket to Thessaloniki was three thousand four hundred Drachmas. | 
| 8 | Pênç hezarîyekim [yayê] w rrûm kirde ew lawe, wutim ba qise w şitim legeł neka. | 
|  | I gave him a five thousand (note) and turned my face away in case he tried to speak to me. | 
| 9 | Pênç hezarîyekim yayê w wutim “êna Salonîk”, yek dane bo Salonîk. | 
|  | I gave him a five thousand (note), and said “pena Thessaloniki”, one ticket to Thessaloniki. | 
| 10 | Baqîy pareke/ pûłekey pê damewe w bilêtekey pê dam û rroy. | 
|  | He gave me my change, gave me the ticket, and went away. | 
| 11 | Le/ ew merrḥele-şim rret kird. | 
|  | In/ I passed that stage too. | 
| 12 | Geyiştîne yekem şar, ewe yeʕnî yek hefte rrê be pê rroştin, [min be seʕatê geyştim.] | 
|  | We arrived at the first city, which was one week’s walk away [I arrived in one hour.] | 
| 13 | Dûhem şar, yeʕnî dû hefte be pê rroştin, ewe min be seʕet û nîwê geyştim. | 
|  | The second city, which was two week’s walk away, I arrived at in an hour and a half. | 
| 14 | Ke dane dane şarekan rroyştîn û beyanî/ dewrî beyanî geyiştîne Salonîk. | 
|  | We went through the cities one after the other, and in the morning/ around the morning we arrived at Thessaloniki. | 
| 15 | Dewrî beyanî geyiştîne Salonîk û lewê dabezîm, seyr ekem îsgay qetar pirryetî le Kurd, Kurdî bedbext, wekû xoman! | 
|  | Around the morning, we arrived at Thessaloniki, and I left the train there; I saw the railway station was full of Kurds, unfortunate Kurds, like us! | 
| 16 | Dû minałim bînî, be rrastî minał, çuwarde w panẓe w ewane. | 
|  | I met two children, really children, at fourteen, fifteen and such ages. | 
| 17 | Kesyan legeł nebû, ne îngilîzî ezanin, ladêyî, be Xwa, nexwênewar. | 
|  | They were not accompanied by anyone, they didn’t know English, villagers, I swear by God, (they were) illiterate. | 
| 18 | Neyan ezanî bilît bisenin; nazanim çon hatûn ta ewê-ş. | 
|  | They didn’t know how to purchase tickets; I don’t know how they had even got there. | 
| 19 | Bo ewan-îş bilîtim send û xulase, subḥanêkman xuward û suwarî qetar bûyn bo Atên. | 
|  | I bought tickets for them too, and in summary, we had breakfast and boarded the train to Athens. | 
| 20 | Royştîn bo Atên. | 
|  | We went to Athens. | 
| 21 | Royştîn bo Atên û seʕ/, dewrî seʕatî çuwar, çuwar û nîw û ewane geyiştîne Atên. | 
|  | We went to Athens and arrived in Athens around four o’clock, half past four. | 
| 22 | Îtir le Atên mangê lewê bûm. | 
|  | Then I stayed in Athens for a month. | 
| 23 | Eh/ pasport û masportî ceʕlîman send û zor-îş xerap dirusyan kirdibû. | 
|  | Er/ We purchased fake passports, and they had been made very badly. | 
| 24 | Suwarî utubûs çûm/ bûm, çûm bo benderî Patra. | 
|  | I boarded a bus and went to Patras port. | 
| 25 | Lewê, suwarî keştî bûm ke biçim bo îtalya. | 
|  | There, I went on board a ship to go to Italy. | 
| 26 | Suwarî keştî bûm û kontrolekey rr/ hîc nebû. | 
|  | I boarded the ship, and its controls were nothing serious. | 
| 27 | Zor asan ser kewtim. | 
|  | I boarded very easily. | 
| 28 | Lew ser ke g/ hatim dabezim, jin û pyawêkî polîsî îtalyayî ser kewtin, b/ le ber dirgaka ewestan. | 
|  | On the other side, where I had to get off, an Italian policewoman and a policeman came on board and stood at the gate. | 
| 29 | Le ber dirgakay ewestan û musafirekan-îş be sef dane dane erroştin. | 
|  | They stood at the gate, and the passengers were leaving in a queue one by one. | 
| 30 | Min-îş wutim: ṭewaw îtir gîram. | 
|  | And I said: it is finished, I will be apprehended. | 
| 31 | Em kontrołe le kontrołêkî ciddî eçê. | 
|  | This control looks like a strict control. | 
| 32 | A/ yek/ yek nefer mabû norey min biga, keştîyeke ewe nîye tekanî exward, hêşta/ hêşta tekanî exward; ême danebezîbûyn. | 
|  | Only one/ one person remained before it was my turn, the ship was still surging, it was still/ still surging; we had not got off yet. | 
| 33 | Qaweyan hawird bo ew dû pulîse. | 
|  | They brought coffee for those two police officers. | 
| 34 | Qaweyek bû, [na] aw bû, şitêkyan bo hênan bîxonewe. | 
|  | It was coffee, I am not sure if it was water, or something they brought them to drink. | 
| 35 | Wiła keştî tekanî xward û rrija. | 
|  | Well, the ship surged, and it spilt. | 
| 36 | Lew şiloqiyeya min serîʕ kartekem nîşan da w; legeł dû zê kezî tira nîşanman da w rroyştîn. | 
|  | During that muddle, I showed my card quickly; we showed them along with two or three other people, and left. | 
| 37 | Xom legeł xełkekea têkeław kird hatme derewe. | 
|  | I mixed myself up with the people, and came out. | 
| 38 | Îtir ewan meşẋûłî; kontrołeke kontrołêkî ciddî nebû, bełam xeternak/ xeternak bû. | 
|  | Then they were busy; the control was not a serious control, but it was dangerous/ dangerous. | 
| 39 | Yeʕnî, boy hebû ke bicîrêm lewya. | 
|  | So, it was likely that I would be arrested there. | 
| 40 | Hîc negîram; dabezîm û wam ezanî ewe kontroł nebû. | 
|  | I was not apprehended; I got off and thought that it was not a real control. | 
| 41 | Wutim kontrolî esłî yêt; eme kontrołe esłîyeke natwanê ewene asan bûbê. | 
|  | I said the real control will be here; the real control couldn’t be so easy. | 
| 42 | Seyr ekem suwarî qayiqêkyan kirdîn û duwayî ke hatîne em ber, dabezîn; naw şareke bû, Birîndizî, le cinûbî îtalya. | 
|  | They put us on a boat, and when we reached the other side, we got off; it was the centre of the town, Brindisi, in the south of Italy. | 
| 43 | Lewê-ş yekser newestam; yenî nîw seʕet-îş newestam. | 
|  | And I didn’t stay there; I didn’t stay for even half an hour. | 
| 44 | Yekser qîtarim me/ girt; bilêtî qîtarim sen bo eh/ Mîlano, yek ser/ qîtarî yek ser bo Mîlano. | 
|  | Immediately, I booked the train; I bought the train ticket to er/ Milan, direct/ direct ticket to Milan. | 
| 45 | Hejde seʕat le naw qîtara bûm. | 
|  | I had been on board the train for eighteen hours. | 
| 46 | Yeʕnî le cinûbî cinûbî îtalyawe heta şumalî şumalî îtalya. | 
|  | That is from the south end of Italy to the north end of Italy. | 
| 47 | Teqrîben hejde seʕat/ hejde seʕatî xayan. | 
|  | It took nearly eighteen hours/ eighteen hours. | 
| 48 | Em hejde seʕate ne xewtim, ne nanim xward, ne emtwanî danîşim. | 
|  | During these eighteen hours I didn’t sleep, I didn’t eat, nor could I sit down. | 
| 49 | Zor bêqerar bûm, zor zor. | 
|  | I was very nervous, very very. | 
| 50 | Pênc deqey mabû bigeme Mîlano xewim lê kewt. | 
|  | Only five minutes was remaining to arrive at Milan I fell asleep. | 
| 51 | Yenî çawim qurtan; bes bes çawim nûqan. | 
|  | Well, I shut my eyes; I only closed my eyes. | 
| 52 | Ke çawim nûqan, çawim kirdewe tabloy “Mîlano çentrale” dûr ekewtewe. | 
|  | I closed my eyes, when I opened my eyes the sign for “Milano Centrale”, Milan Central, was departing. | 
| 53 | Ah! weła qetar rroy, heta merzî Siwîs newesta. | 
|  | Oh, the train departed, and didn’t stop until the Swiss border. | 
| 54 | Wutim: eme merze, pirryetî le polîs, min çî pikem nîwe şew seʕatî sê! | 
|  | I said: it is the border, it is full of police, and what shall I do in the middle of the night, at three o’clock. | 
| 55 | Eh/ îtir geyîştîne merzî Siwîs. | 
|  | Er/ Then we arrived at the Swiss border. | 
| 56 | Geyiştîne sinûrî Siwîsra. | 
|  | We arrived at the border of Switzerland. | 
| 57 | Lewê eh/ seʕatî sê, nîwe şew ke dabezîm, seyr ekem polîsî Siwîs-îşî lê ye w polîsî îtalî-şî lê ye. | 
|  | When I got off there in the middle of the night, at three o’clock, I saw there were Swiss police; and there were Italian police too. | 
| 58 | Çîm kir? | 
|  | What did I do? | 
| 59 | le ber ewey meşkûk nebê seʕatî sêy nîwe şew: em şerrqîye kê ye, yekser xom berew pîryan rroştim. | 
|  | In case they would suspect who this Eastern person was here at 3 o’clock in the middle of the night, I immediately went towards them. | 
| 60 | Berew pîryan rroştim. | 
|  | I went towards them. | 
| 61 | Be îngilîzî wutim: min le naw qîtarekea xewim lê kewtûwe, hatim biçim bo Mîlano, bilîtekem nîşan da. | 
|  | I said, in English: I have fallen asleep in the train, I came to Milan; I showed them the ticket. | 
| 62 | Wutim: bilîtî min Mîlano bûwe, ke çon/ min tûrîst im; çon biçmewe b/ bo Mîlano? | 
|  | I said: my ticket was to Milan, and that I am a tourist; how shall I return to Milan? | 
| 63 | Zor be mîhrebanî w zor be mueddebî w eh/ hînyan eh/ rrahnemayîyan kirdim: | 
|  | Very kindly and very politely and er/ they like, they guided me, | 
| 64 | ke ebê sê seʕat buwestî, qetarî eh/ Mîlano ke errwatewe seʕatî şeşî beyanî yêt. | 
|  | (saying) that you have to wait three hours; the train to er/ Milan when it returns, will come at six o’clock in the morning. | 
| 65 | Ebê ta seʕatî şeşî beyanî lewya b/ danîşî, ya biçî bo hotêlê şê/ şwênê. | 
|  | You have to stay there until six o’clock of the morning, or go to a hotel, or somewhere. | 
| 66 | Wutim: na eger muşkîle nîye lewya danîşim, lewya daenîşim. | 
|  | I said: No, if it’s not a problem to sit there, I will sit there. | 
| 67 | Wutyan: qey nake, danîşe. | 
|  | They said: there is no problem, sit down. | 
| 68 | Yenî a ewa agadar bûn ke min bo çî lewya danîştûm, îtir meşkûk nebûn. | 
|  | Well, they were aware why I was sitting there, so they were not suspicious. | 
| 69 | Îtir awa danîştim sê seʕat heta qîtar hat. | 
|  | So, I had to sit for three hours until the train came. | 
| 70 | Qîtar hat. | 
|  | The train came. | 
| 71 | Ser kewtim û berew Mîlano dewrî no w no-w nîw û ewane geyîştime Mîlano. | 
|  | I boarded it towards Milan, and arrived in Milan at nine, half past nine, or so. |