Ameer Mehtr could not afford to pay smugglers to take him from Turkey to Greece so the Syrian refugee swam across in swirling currents, defeating high waves and exhausting circumstances. Swimming the eight kilometer stretch to Europe took a total of seven and a half hours.

He posted a triumphant photo of his arrival to Samos that went viral. A trained kickboxer, Ameer is an athlete who has been swimming since the age of five. The decision to swim was not a spur-of-the-moment idea and he spent months training off the coast of Beirut before undertaking the journey.

The Turkish police spotted him as he approached the beach to set off to Greece and chased him for about an hour before he dived straight in – desperate not to get caught. His only belongings were a set of trunk, goggles and nose clip and a wrap around his waist with a small amount of personal belongings – some clothes, a couple of computer chips for his memories, a Syrian national team kickboxing kit and a cell phone. For energy, he wrapped ginger-flavored dates in clingfilm around his arm.

That was not where his journey ended. Upon swimming the eight kilometer stretch of sea to get to Turkey, he then trekked for a month in a walk to Sweden.

Speaking to the Sunday Times from an asylum center in Sweden he said that “every second of the way I thought I was going to die.” He kept on going, looking at the cliffs and thinking that they are his future.

Ameer left Damascus after he saw a friend shot by a government sniper and his family home and finances destroyed by fighting. He was terrified that he would be drafted.

Ameer’s story sounds unique, but he claims that others are swimming across to Greece. There’s even a Facebook group for swimmers where Ameer gives advice as to how to prepare for the journey, training and physical stamina required and what to pack.

In Sweden now, Ameer is working as a translator while waiting for his asylum to be processed.