5 Inspirational Young Refugees
5 Inspirational Young Refugees
Refugees are people who have fled war, violence, conflict, or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country. Not only is it hard for refugees to acclimate to their new environment, but they also must leave most of their possessions behind and move to a foreign country. At NEMI Teas, we employ and train refugees to provide them with local work experience as well as gain better English skills to help them on their upward journey. Here are five inspirational refugees who are extraordinary leaders:
Malala Yousafzai:
Malala first gained national recognition in 2012 for her fight on behalf of girls and their right to gain an education. Malala was originally from Pakistan, where girls were given minimal opportunities compared to boys. Fortunately for Malala, her father was a teacher, and he was determined to provide her with every opportunity that a boy would have had at the time. Despite their extraordinary efforts, when the Taliban came in 2008, they were forced to flee their village. Girls’ opportunities were even more limited as the Taliban banned girls' schools, music, and television.
Even with the Taliban’s limitations and laws, Malala was determined to continue her fight for women to get an education. As she became more of an activist for women’s education, she became a target. In October 2012, Malala was riding the bus home from school when a masked Taliban shooter opened fire. Ten days later, she woke up in a hospital in Birmingham, England. Malala and her family became refugees in the United Kingdom. At that moment, Malala decided to increase her efforts to help all girls get the right to education. Malala and her father worked to establish the Malala Fund, which is “A charity dedicated to giving every girl an opportunity to achieve a future she chooses”. In recognition of her charity work, Malala received the Nobel Peace Prize in December of 2014 and became the youngest-ever Nobel winner. In 2020, Malala graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Economics and Philosophy with the hopes of growing the Malala Fund to a worldwide charity fund. Today, she continues to be a leader in the fight for education for girls worldwide.
Mohamad Rahimeh:
Mohamad was born in Syria during the Civil War and decided to make his future his own despite his difficult circumstances. When he landed at the refugee camp in Calais, France, he coined the name "The Jungle". Several weeks after arriving, one of Mohamad's closest friends broke his legs and lost his ability to walk to the food area. Mohamad took it upon himself to start cooking for his friend. Originally a political scientist, he had little cooking experience. Using basic ingredients found within the refugee camps storage, he recreated Syrian cuisine for many refugees to taste recipes from their homeland weekly. "He loved my food, and after he got better, I made everyone a big feast from one pan, and everyone had my "Jungle eggs" – people loved it," Mohamad says. Mohamad journeyed to the U.K. and started a popup Syrian brunch stall in North London to continue his cooking enterprise. He then expanded to a full-scale restaurant where customers are able to sit at communal tables to enjoy "family style" hummus-based dips and other Syrian cuisines. Mohamad wanders the restaurant, chatting about his recipes and his home country. Mohamad hopes to open more restaurants powered by refugees in hopes of helping those who are struggling, just as he was only a few years ago.
Dr Jonas:
Jonas Havugimana is from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He became a refugee in 2012 when he was selected to be a DAFI (an international scholarship) student. Six years later, in 2018, he became the first refugee to earn a degree in medicine in Rwanda. He became well known in Kiziba, Rwanda's oldest refugee camp. He was essential in testing cases of suspected COVID-19. Dr Jonas is motivated by his desire to help others and has taken to WhatsApp to help treat and prescribe medicine for Congolese refugees. Due to limited medical resources in Rwanda and even more limited mobility, Dr Jonas’ WhatsApp treatments have become crucial to helping families in the refugee camps. Using WhatsApp gives him the freedom to treat double the patients he could typically be due to its remote function. In addition, he has been able to help treat and refer many sick patients to the National Treatment Center for follow up. His ultimate goal is to help other refugees get the same opportunity for education that he received and help eliminate COVID-19 in refugee camps all across Rwanda.
Md Mominul Hamid:
Mominul is a human rights social activist ambassador who advocates for increased access to higher education for asylum seekers. Originally from Bangladesh, Mominul took it upon himself to help struggling asylum seekers during the start of the pandemic in 2020. He was also a part-time law student at Northumbria University in hopes of assisting other refugees to gain access to university-level education to increase job strength for asylum seekers. Mominul has already founded three separate scholarships for refugees to earn to help with their education. He is also a lead volunteer at COVID-19 vaccination clinics, and he plays a pivotal role in encouraging refugees and other asylum seekers to get vaccinated.
Nasra Adam Muhammad:
Nasra Adam Muhammad was born in Zambia to Ethiopian refugee parents. Nasra is driven by her desire to help other refugees achieve. She has recently graduated from the University of Lusaka with a degree in international development. When the pandemic hit Zambia, she helped right away. Nasra bought and collected items to help refugees fight the pandemic. Hand sanitisers and masks seem like a simple thing to many, but as refugees, they are hard to come by in a camp. She wants people to know that being a refugee doesn't make you different from other people residing in your host country. "I want people to know that being a refugee is just a status". Nasra believes the “status of a refugee” is only temporary until those with the power to help extend their reach. Nasra hopes that she will start an orphanage that will help support refugee children and provide them with a better life. Her main goal is to help empower other refugees to help achieve their lifelong goals and relinquish their refugee status.