Refugee parents who feared their child had drowned while fleeing Afghanistan describe moment of reunion

Mahdi Aziz and his father Nader were luckily at the same concert in Sweden when they saw each other

Refugee parents from Afghanistan have recalled the moment they were reunited with their son, after a year of fearing he had drowned at sea.

Mahdi Aziz, who was 14 at the time, was split from his family in Turkey during last summer's mass migration to Europe.

Smugglers had forced him aboard a boat headed towards the border before he could stop them.

He managed to reach Sweden, unaware that his family was at an asylum centre less than 150 kilometres away from the foster home where he was placed.

"I was crying myself to sleep, thinking of my mother and crying," said Mahdi, "I used to cry a lot thinking of my youngest sister, Ghazal."

By chance, Mahdi and his father Nader were at the same open air concert in central Sweden earlier this year.

Nader couldn't believe his eyes when he thought he saw his son in the crowd.

"I suddenly looked in front of me (thinking) 'is that Mahdi?'," he said, "I told myself it was a dream; Mahdi cannot be here.

"Then I looked again, thinking this is actually Mahdi. Again I stopped myself from believing it.

"So I went a bit closer and looked and realised it was actually Mahdi, I wasn't dreaming.

"I called his name, he looked back and yelled 'Dad!' I cannot describe it. It was an amazing moment. I still cannot believe it."

Raheleh Aziz, Mahdi's mother, at first didn't believe her husband when he called to say he was their son.

She said she had paced around the room at the asylum centre until Mahdi arrived to see her in person.

Although the Aziz family are now glad to know their son is alive and well, they now have to return to Afghanistan, but without Mahdi.

Legislation in Sweden has tightened over refugees, and although Mahdi's application was accepted as an unaccompanied minor, theirs were rejected on the grounds that they could live safely in Afghanistan.

The family are appealing the decision, but if forced to leave, they hope another country will take them in.

Watching his son head back to school, Nader said he did not know when they would be able to see him again.