Ra’ed Khan and the tireless work of Road to Freedom

Road to Freedom was founded in 2015 by Ra’ed Khan. Having witnessed the devastating effects of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake a decade before, and then the Syrian refugee ​‘crisis’ – which saw over 1.3 million people displaced as a result of the rise of ISIS and the ensuing civil war – the Warner Music executive launched the nonprofit organisation to provide emergency aid and support to displaced people around Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The organisation provides basic aid such as food rations, school items, medical aid and more, as well as longer term support and collaborations with local NGOs to help with relief from the struggles of having to flee a war-torn home. Now, a new book, Hurriyah – which translates to ​‘freedom’ from Arabic – traces the personal stories, struggles and emotions witnessed by Khan over the past decade or so, told to poet Omar Mooro.

Printed alongside the words, which verse-like and evocative, are photographs from the organisation’s archive of work, spanning Calais and Dunkirk refugee camps, borders at Greece, Serbia and North Macedonia, and delivering aid to those displaced from their homes in Palestine, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan and Somalia.

“Hurriyah is my humble attempt to capture the enduring spirit of those who have lost everything, yet who carry a light within them that can never be extinguished,” Ra’ed explains. ​“It is a reflection of journeys taken against the odds, of resilience that refuses to be dimmed, and of hope that always finds a way to grow. These stories told beautifully to the wonderful Omar who brought them to life through his words, fulfils the promise I made to the countless displaced people I met along their journeys, that one day I will tell the world what happened to them.”

In the extract taken from the book below, Khan reflects on what he took away from the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the driving forces behind the founding of Road to Freedom.

• Read next: What is photography’s role in the age of displacement?

Now what can we tell you that you do not already know – of that Road we travelled, the Road that began with you – of our Road to Freedom? 

Of that Path which took us from Pakistan to London, and back – which led us to the borderlands of Europe, to the shores of Civilisation, where we witnessed first-hand the seas of human suffering? 

Where we learned of injustice, of grief – of loss and the fruits of hardship – of solidarity and compassion, of Love and the boundless resilience of Humanity when confronted with adversity.

Now what can we tell you that you do not already know? Of this strange World – and the many worlds within it – where poverty and abundance exist side by side, and Mankind is divided by lines of race and nation. 

What can we tell you of the Family we made along the way? Of our Companions in Spirit, who by the cruelty of history were displaced and mistreated – and who yet remained Free, in spite of everything. 

Of all the Virtues that we learned from them, of faith and perseverance – those Souls who kept the lamps of Joy alight, even in the depth of Tragedy – who taught us the true meaning of Charity. 

What can we tell you of that Road we travelled? Which led us from helplessness to action – from anger to hope, through grief to understanding, to healing, through the wildernesses of a world at war, to Freedom? 

What can we tell you that you don’t already know, of that Road we travelled – the Road that began with you.

• Read next: In photos: Lebanon’s women against a backdrop of war

Do you Remember when we set off upon the Path? When the Road became clear for us, and there was no turning back? 

When disaster struck, and we watched from another World – from the comfort of England, as the earth quaked in our Homeland, and released a wave of suffering which we could not ignore. 

We saw, then, millions of people who looked like us, emerging from the dust, or trapped beneath the rubble – 100,000 dead – and many more whose lives were changed forever. 

We saw schools and hospitals collapse, the landscape devastated – villages disappear along the hillside – on October 8^th, 2005, when a tremor measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale devastated Pakistan, and the fallout continued for many years after.

What were we to do? Though we were young then… 

It was you who led us to the Road – who brought us home, from helplessness to action. 

Where we stood upon the site of turmoil, and came to understand the nature of devastation. 

The Path was clear – we knew then, that we would do all that we could to help. 

When we returned to England, the years passed and life carried on – though we kept alive within us that thread of Remembrance, of the world as it was, of all that we’d witnessed beyond the appearance of peace in which our days passed – through which we grew into Understanding.

Hurriyah: A Journey of Solidarity on the Road to Freedom by Ra’ed Khan, as told to Omar Mooro is available to pre-order via Road to Freedom’s official website.

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