Mohamad, a Syrian refugee in his late 20s, belongs to the global 1% of the refugee population who make it to university, according to UNHCR’s latest report on refugee education.
Mohamad in Nicosia, Cyprus
The chances for young refugees to access a university education are grim, despite big improvements in overall numbers thanks to investment in scholarships and other programmes. According to UNHCR’s latest report on refugee education, only 1% of the global refugee population make it to university, compared with enrolment in tertiary education standing at 36 per cent for everyone else.
Mohamad, a Syrian refugee in his late 20s belongs to this 1%. He graduated last year in architecture from a university in Nicosia and he’s now looking into his postgraduate studies. UNHCR met him last summer in Nicosia while he was waiting for his student visa to Germany to be processed. With a true passion in architecture he applied and got accepted for a two-year course in architecture and media at the Bauhaus University Weimar.
Today, he lives in Nicosia with the status of subsidiary protection. Resourceful and active as he is, Mohammad works as a part-time translator with the Asylum Service until his visa is issued. He fills his free time by improving his professional skills and learning new programmes and by honing his German-language skills. He has already acquired the basic language skills and a certificate in German through a number of online courses he has recently completed.
Mohamad came to Cyprus nine years ago on a scholarship scheme to study architecture at a university in the northern part of Nicosia. “At the time, the brutal war in my country had not started,
but when I found this opportunity to study abroad on a scholarship I immediately grabbed it. I’ve always felt inspired by living abroad and learning new cultures,” he explains.
While aiming for an international career and life, Mohamad longs for the Syria he knew before the war, and for his loved ones who stayed behind. “It’s very sad to see your country in this state… after so many years of war there’s been so much suffering, thousands have been killed and millions have become refugees; the biggest cities have been wiped out from the map, cities that were thriving once such as Aleppo, Homs… I wish, I hope that my family stays safe. I really tried to bring my brother to Cyprus after the war started, but this was not possible and now my brother is no longer allowed to exit the country. My family does not want to worry me and they tell me things are not that bad,” Mohamad says with a nostalgic smile.
Coming from Syria it is hard to remain optimistic, but Mohamad does not give up on hope and he has a plan to put his skills in practice once the war ends:
“It’s in my mind: when the war finishes I want to go back and help rebuild my country,” he confides.
A few days ago Mohamad called in sheer bliss to share the good news: he was granted the visa and next week he’s flying to Germany to pursue his dream. “I can’t describe how excited and happy I am. I was seriously about to break down into tears at work today when they called me [from the Embassy] to inform me about the visa.”
Germany may be the next stop in his life’s journey, but Cyprus will remain in Mohamad’s heart: “I love Cyprus. I’ve been to so many beautiful places in this island; I’ve made lifetime friends here, and I’m really thankful to all those people and organisations who supported me ever since I came to Cyprus.”
The postgraduate course in which Mohammed has enrolled started a month ago, but this is not of concern to him: “I will catch up, I’m sure,” he says. And all the odds are in his favour.
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