Ben Brooks - Stories for Boys Who Dare to Be Different 2: Even More True Tales of Amazing Boys Who Changed the World

In 2002, a British reporter named Amardeep Bassey traveled to Afghanistan to chronicle the impact that the American invasion was having on its people. It was a dangerous place and, for safety, he hired two local guides, Noushad and Khittabshah.

Both Noushad and Khittabshah belonged to Pashtun tribes who dwell in the Khyber Pass, a dangerous, mountainous route that is the main connection between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Together they helped Amardeep successfully cross from Pakistan to Afghanistan. In the capital city of Kabul, the reporter interviewed ordinary people about how the war had affected their daily lives. Then he headed back into Pakistan with Noushad and Khittabshah.

They were stopped at the border. Amardeep was told he didnt have the correct visa to pass through.

You two may go, the border guard told the Pashtun tribesmen. But we are taking him.

The guards were convinced that Amardeep was an Indian spy. They hauled him off to jail, where he was locked in a small cell filled with robbers, murderers, and terrorists. Coming from the West meant he would have very likely been a huge target for violence inside the prison. However, he was not alone. Noushad and Khittabshah had volunteered to be arrested alongside him. They were not going to abandon a man theyd promised to protect.

Without them, I would have crumbled, said Amardeep.

The two men looked after him for twenty-eight days. When Amardeep was finally released, they were made to stay inside the jail until hed left Pakistan.

The three of them kept in touch. Some years later, Amardeep returned to Pakistan to thank the men who went through prison to help a stranger from a distant land.

(BORN 1988)

Ibrahim grew up with thirteen siblings in Deir ez-Zor in Syria. They would spend their days playing basketball, practicing Judo, and swimming in the blue waters of the Euphrates River. Then civil war broke out.

One day, Ibrahim was in the street when rockets crashed down around him. He threw himself into the nearest building for cover. That was when he started hearing cries for help. His friend had been hurt and was lying in the open.

Sprinting out to help him, Ibrahim was struck by a rocket.

He managed to haul himself to safety, but the damage to his leg was irreparable. It had to be amputated. Medical services and supplies were so limited that Ibrahim woke up twice during the harrowing operation and was sent home the next day without any pain relief.

Seeking better medical care, Ibrahim traveled to Turkey and made the dangerous crossing to Greece on a rubber dingy. He was granted asylum and settled in Athens. Initially, Ibrahim used a wheelchair for transport but was eventually fitted for a prosthetic leg. He used it as a chance to get back into swimming.

Two years later, Ibrahim competed in the Paralympics in Brazil, as part of the Independent Paralympic Athletes Team, a group made of refugees and asylum seekers. He was also chosen by Greece to carry their Olympic torch. Proudly, Ibrahim raised the lit beacon as he walked through a refugee camp in the center of Athens.

I am carrying the flame for myself, Ibrahim said. But also for Syrians, for refugees everywhere.

There are now an estimated sixty-five million displaced people around the world. Ibrahim hopes he can act as proof they can rebuild their lives.