Change in a New World With the Same Mind
- starsrefugeeorg
- Mar 1
- 2 min read
Change is hard, whether it be changing schools, changing jobs, or moving 2,000 miles from your home to escape danger. That is the reality for many refugees from all over the world, but for Nujeen Mustafa, she made sure her story was told.
Mustafa was a young girl living with Cerebral Palsy, a neurological disorder that affects movement and coordination. She grew up in Syria, where she could not go to school or leave the house due to the lack of accommodations for people with disabilities. Despite her condition, Nujeen was a very positive and hopeful young girl. However, as the situation in Syria worsened because of the Syrian Civil War, her family decided it was no longer safe to stay.
In 2014, at the age of 16, Nujeen and her sister began their 2,000-mile trek across the Mediterranean Sea, through Greece, Macedonia, Hungary, and finally to Germany, where their brother lives. To make it there, they had to be smuggled into Germany, however; they could not afford a direct trip. As a result, they had to find money wherever they could and travel in harsh conditions alongside many others seeking refuge like themselves. Traveling is difficult enough for an able-bodied person, but for someone who spends most of her time in a wheelchair, the struggle was greatly intensified.
Despite these challenges, Mustafa remained positive, reminding herself to focus not on the negatives, but on the life she would be able to live once she reached Germany. Eventually, she and her sister arrived and reunited with her brother, whom she had not seen since she was a baby.
Although Nujeen was now safe from immediate danger, she still faced the emotional and physical struggles that came with being a refugee, especially one with a disability. First, she had to overcome the language barrier, so she began watching German T.V. shows and reading books and newspapers to learn the language. Second, she faced the cultural difference that came with migrating to a new country. To adapt, she enrolled in a school for disabled youth and began integrating herself into her community by making friends and becoming assimilated. Lastly, she confronted her disability, which she did not allow to restrict her, but instead to free her to new possibilities, such as raising awareness for refugees with disabilities.
She became a strong activist for refugees. She was the first person with a disability to brief the UN Security Council on her personal experience in the Syrian War. She was listed among BBC’s 100 woman in 2018 and she has spoken events such as the Palace of Nations, TEDx, and the Nansen refugee award in 2017. In 2019, she won the Alison des Forges Award for extraordinary activism because of her advocacy for improved humanitarian aid for people with disabilities.
Nujeen Mustafa is an inspiration. She took her struggle and turned it into progress for others. We should all view change as she did, not as the end of a chapter, but as the beginning of one. Her bravery and outspokenness have paved the way for reform and awareness for refugees of all kinds.
-Avery Ro, '27
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