Crossing Borders, Sharing Stories

The map above highlights the countries of origin of the people who have shared their stories on this platform. Each highlighted country represents a lived experience and a personal journey that contributes to this shared space. This platform was created by some students of the Master’s programme in International Humanitarian Action (NOHA) at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) . The project was developed within the course “Anthropology and Intercultural Aspects of Humanitarian Action ” , combining academic reflection with direct engagement with people with a migrant background. The project emerged from the idea that digital spaces can foster inclusion and understanding only when they are created together with migrants themselves. Many platforms fail due to language barriers, lack of trust, and top-down design. This platform responds by offering a collaborative, multilingual space where lived experiences are central and stories can be shared in an accessible and respectful way. This is a mu...

I am an Afghan from Panjshir province, Afghanistan. For most of my life, I lived in my homeland. Everything changed when the Taliban took over the country. Like many others, I was forced to leave behind the only home I had ever known. That moment marked the beginning of a long and difficult journey toward Germany. My route here was through smuggling. First, I crossed into Pakistan, then Iran, and from there into Turkey. Each border was another test, another uncertainty. From Turkey, I continued through Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, and Switzerland, country after country, moving forward with the hope of safety. Eventually, after all those borders and hardships, I reached Germany. It has now been about two years since I arrived. When I first came, I went straight to the refugee camp. I had no place to stay, no relatives waiting for me, nowhere to call home. Life in the camp is not easy, but it is manageable. The days can be tiring, but we have no choice except to e...

I am 28 years old, born and raised in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. For almost 24 years, Afghanistan was my whole world, its mountains, people, struggles, and memories shaped who I am. But in 2022, I felt a strong pull toward a different future, a place where I could grow, learn, and build a life with more stability and opportunity. That decision led me first to Cyprus. I went there legally, hoping to work and experience life in a new environment. Cyprus was beautiful, full of opportunities, warmth, and open skies. Yet deep inside, I knew my journey wasn’t meant to end there. My heart had always carried the dream of Germany, a place I imagined as a gateway to education, safety, and a brighter future. In March 2025, that dream finally began to take shape. Through the IOM evacuation program for people from war-affected countries, I traveled from Cyprus to Germany. I made the journey with friends but without any family members, just hope, courage, and a small suitcase full of memories....

I am from Iran, originally from the province of Sistan and Baluchistan, but my family lives in an eastern city of Iran. I moved to Germany in September 2024, and I came directly from Iran to Germany with a connection in Istanbul airport. I came for my studies.  I didn’t originally plan to come to Germany. I wanted to go to Ireland, the UK, or Australia because of the English language. But my IELTS was about to expire, and because of the political situation in Iran everything became worse. I decided to leave the country earlier than planned. Two of my best friends were living in Germany and suggested I move here, so I chose this country because I trusted them and because I liked the study program. My first day in Germany was very difficult. When I arrived on the 28th of September, my friend and her boyfriend picked me up from the airport. But as soon as I got here, I felt strange and uncomfortable. I cried in the car, and I immediately wanted to return to Iran. I called my mother an...

I was born in Iraq and lived there for sixteen years. My family and I are Yazidi, a religious minority mainly living in Shingal in Iraq. Because of the war and the arrival of ISIS, life became impossible for us. ISIS destroyed everything, killed the men, and took the women. There was no safety and no future for us anymore. Even on the Iraqi personal ID, the religion is written clearly, and this created serious problems for us. For these reasons, we decided to leave the country. I left with my four brothers and my two sisters. Our goal was to reach Germany. We knew that Germany had the largest Yazidi community outside Iraq, and at that time it was possible to ask for asylum there because Chancellor Merkel had announced that refugees were welcome. We were confident that once we reached Germany, we would not be sent back to Iraq. The journey took forty days. We travelled through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, and other countries before reaching Germany. From Iraq to the first border we took a...

I am an Afghan from Kabul, a city shaped by resilience and loss, hope and survival. My roots trace back to Badakhshan, the mountainous province where my father was born and where a decisive journey began, one that quietly shaped my own path. At a time when war engulfed the country and uncertainty defined daily life, my father left Badakhshan for Kabul. He arrived without acquaintances, without guarantees, and with little more than hope for change and dignity. That journey was not simply a relocation; it was a conscious step toward rebuilding life under the harshest conditions. In Kabul, through patience and determination, he established stability, built a family, and created opportunities where none seemed to exist. Education became the cornerstone of our household. I attended school and later entered Kabul University, where I studied journalism and Public Relations, a discipline that taught me responsibility, critical thinking, and the power of public awareness. During my undergraduat...

I come from Italy, and after finishing my degree there, I decided to continue my studies abroad. During the last years of university, I became increasingly aware of how conflicts, disasters, and human rights violations affect people’s lives around the world. I wanted to understand these issues more deeply and find a way to contribute to the humanitarian sector in a meaningful and informed way. I started asking myself what it would mean to turn the discomfort of watching these tragedies from a distance, almost a sense of impotence, into something concrete. That is what pushed me to continue studying and specialize in the humanitarian field, choosing the master's in international Humanitarian Action. The program requires mobility periods in different universities across Europe, and this structure became the framework for my decision to move. For the first time I truly experienced what it means to move not as a tourist, but as someone trying to build a part of their life elsewhere. Th...

I grew up in Florianopolis in the south of Brazil. It is the place where I was born and where I spent more than 27 years of my life. I used to work in finance, but the stress of that career slowly became too heavy, and I decided to quit. I reached a point where I knew I needed a complete career change. That was when I decided to get a master's degree. I explored many programs in different countries. Each option had something appealing, but moving so far from my family and friends always felt like a big step. When the opportunity to study in Bochum appeared, to study Humanitarian action, something finally clicked. It felt right in a way the other choices had not. My family has German roots and my ancestors lived in Solingen, which is not far from Bochum. Being here feels a bit like closing a circle and coming back to a place that has always been part of my story, even before I was born. Life also becomes easier knowing that one of my closest friends lives only three hours away. We h...