In 2016, Yasna Rahimi and her family of eight left Afghanistan for Germany. “We struggled with Afghanistan’s social, political and financial divisions. Being born and growing up in such a fragile context meant experiencing and processing a lot at a very young age and growing up quickly.  My parents realized that their children had not experienced childhood the way they themselves had experienced childhood. In order to offer a better life for their children, they started the journey of migration.” For her family this journey was not easy and could have even ended with death. They couldn’t afford to migrate legally and the process would have taken them years, so they had to choose to migrate without papers. “How helpless does a person have to be to leave everything behind and risk everything to start over?” They spent nights outdoors, walking through mountains and forests for hours. Without security, they were afraid that something would happen to them. They feared that they would lose family members, that they would see them suffer and not be able to do anything, or that they would see them drown. “There were moments when I felt some happiness at the thought that we would get there one day, but otherwise there was nothing nice about what we experienced. Sometimes I just wanted to cry and say I can’t do this anymore and I want it to stop, but then I thought that it wasn’t helping us and that it was causing my parents to suffer more, so I just stayed strong and never lost my hope for a new beginning.”

Even though Yasna’s grandparents and relatives were already living in Germany, starting a new life was not easy for her and her family. ”When I arrived in Germany, I thought that the suffering had stopped and we could finally have a secure life. But starting over wasn’t that easy. We didn’t know the language, we barely knew the country, we hardly knew the culture, and we didn’t know whether we would ever feel at home here. There were a lot of people who supported us, but also a lot of people who gave us strange looks and saw us as a threat.” 

After some months, the family overcame their difficulties, marking a new chapter for Yasna. “With high grades, I got into a high school, and the effort was so worth it. From then on, I just wanted to get the best out of myself, and over time, I managed to do that and graduated from high school with the best grades.” Today, the 18-year-old girl studies human medicine at a German university. “I want to help humanity. I want to use the skills and opportunities I have for the benefit of humanity. This is one of the main reasons why I want to study medicine. Also, I have a passion for this field and the drive to become successful. I know that the road to becoming a doctor will be rocky and take a long time, but I firmly believe that if something is meant for you, you will achieve it. You just have to be patient and work hard at it. And when I think about having the ability to save lives one day, with God’s permission, and seeing the gratitude and the sparkle in the eyes of my patients and their families, the difficulties are nothing in comparison to the joy I will feel.”

When she was in high school, Yasna was active in the student council, organizing events and translation services as a member of the media center. “During my time in school, I completed my Cambridge certificate in English and also provided tutoring, helping other students with my knowledge of English.” Currently, she is also a member of a campaign for emergency services in Germany. “We started this campaign at school and are continuing to do so. We also met Nordrhein-Westfalen’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul and presented our campaign. After graduating from high school, I started volunteering as a lecturer in a German language course for foreign women and supporting them in learning the German language.” Yasna can no longer do this regularly because of her studies, but she is still doing her best to help others with their language difficulties when dealing with the authorities, and accompanies Afghan families to occasional appointments if necessary.

Yasna notes that racism and discrimination are continuing to increase in Germany. “I still experience exclusion and racism. This comes from people who are strangers, so it doesn’t bother me much because they are naive and believe everything they see on social media. They have prejudices against everyone who comes from other countries, especially Muslims. I have to say that I feel sorry when I see something like that because these people are trapped in their own prison and only feel hate towards others.” During her journey of integration in Germany she learned to never lose hope and never give up. “You need to be courageous. I was brave enough to defend my rights and try hard, and this courage helped me meet so many new people, have so many positive experiences and understand so many things in my 18 years of life,” she says. 

When Yasna was still in Afghanistan, the worst thing for her was missing one day of school. “The thought of waking up one day and no longer being able to go to school at all, having no education, having no future and seeing my wishes and dreams disappear before my eyes would be unbearable.” After the takeove of Afghanistan by the Taliban, her nightmare came true for the women and girls of Afghanistan. “Afghanistan has been taken over by the Taliban and I am not there, but I feel the fear of every girl and woman and feel every tear they shed because they are not allowed to go to school or university and work. How is a society supposed to function without women? A society like that is a disturbed society that takes a step backwards in every area every day. We see the poverty, the helplessness, the suffering of the people. It may be that there are no explosions that kill people, but indeed they all die day after day, when they watch how people and their families are doing badly and they can’t do anything about it. I wish that Afghanistan would receive more support and that everyone’s rights would be defended worldwide.

Yasna advises new Afghan arrivals to take advantage of available opportunities. “They should learn the German language, they should continue their education, they should shape their lives according to their wishes and dreams, but all of this with understanding, respect, humanity and love. We represent a large group here and any bad actions will have bad consequences for this larger group, just like our good deeds shed a good light on all Afghans and Muslims. What we know most is that it is not easy to have a good life, so we should be grateful and take advantage of every opportunity so that we can make it possible for others to have a good life one day too.”

In Germany, she appreciates the security and the German social system. “Everyone is supported and everyone has opportunities to work their way up. Even if you have financial problems, you shouldn’t think that you can’t study, because you can always get support. You don’t have that anywhere else in the world.” She asks Germans to be more open to new things, and willing to experience new things in order to avoid prejudices. “Right-wing extremism is increasing every day and that is because many people do not inform themselves but believe everything they hear and see. It would be much easier to fight hatred if you were willing to do it. I always see myself as a representative of people who come from other countries and are primarily Muslims. I often notice how much I think about my actions because they will have consequences for everyone.”

She attributes all of her successes to her parents’ hardships and efforts. “They did everything for us and made many things possible for us. They are the reason why I am standing here today. I receive a lot of support from my family and friends, but also from many other people that I have met over the course of my life in various institutions. I often hear that they are proud of me and that I impress them. Something like that always motivates me to stay on my path and keep going.”

“I ask all human beings to fight hatred, war, ignorance, and racism, and plant the roots of love, peace, respect and justice.”