”One of my teachers once told me that my German wasn’t good enough to continue my High School education. I came from Somalia to Austria in 2009 so German is not my first language. After she told me that I might have to quit my education and start to work, I studied even harder. I read many books in German. My language level went up and I was able to continue my education. I am now taking evening classes. Hopefully I will graduate this year so I will be able to finally go to university. I am not sure what I want to study but I know I want to have a job with meaning. During Ramadan I volunteered to go to orphanages and nursing homes to talk and play with the people there. That way I experienced what it means to help others. I would like for people to get along better, to listen to each other and to appreciate different opinions. As a child I was always dreaming of my birthday. Being a huge fan of Harry Potter and Batman I wanted to have theme parties where my friends would show up in costumes. In Somalia its uncommon to celebrate birthdays so I never really did. Soon I will turn 20 and even though I might be a bit too old for a themed birthday party, I don’t care. I would still love to have such a birthday party. I will throw one and invite all my friends. In life I learned to follow my heart. My sister always says, you are the ink and life is a book and you have to write your own story.”
Khalid, 20 years old, from Somalia (Austria, Vienna)

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