There are hundreds of thousands of stories about Syrian refugees that escape from their country and migrate, constantly fighting against death and constantly chasing their dreams, never losing hope.

One of the stories that has touched me the most is a Syrian refugee’s desperate attempt to escape from Calais in a lorry bound for the UK. In the Interview with the journalists, Daniel Silas Adamson and Mamdouh Akbiek (BBC World Service) he narrated how he ended up escaping into a tank of molten chocolate – an unusual experience that nearly killed him.

The refugee, who remains anonymous, was making his 18th attempt to enter the UK.

With the help of a smuggler and a group of 25 other refugees, he tried to sneak into a mysterious white lorry. Because the lorry was carrying a liquid, the tank wouldn’t have been X-rayed for border-controls.

While the lorry-driver was asleep, the smuggler cut the wires and the refugees sneaked into the chocolate tank. The man narrated that being immersed in hot chocolate was pleasant and nice at first, as the night was freezing. However, after a few hours, the lorry wasn’t moving, and the situation inside the tank became dreadful. Some of the older men started to cry.

The temperature was suffocating and the tank was deep.

The chocolate started to feel like mud.

“The chocolate was so sticky it took six or seven of us to help each man climb out. The first guy pushed open the hatch and pulled himself up while the rest of us shoved from below.The last guy struggled the most because there was no one to push him up. We were all pulling, but he was getting sucked back down by the chocolate. He had to kick his shoes off to get out. They got left behind.”

Eventually, the man made it back to his camp in the woods. “You could see our footprints stretching out on the road behind us.”, he declared.

Today this Syrian refugee has found asylum and works in an Arabic restaurant in London.