From Somalia to a School in Türkiye: Arafat Realizes His Dreams

13-year-old Arafat runs and plays with his new friends in the schoolyard, enjoying his time. As the bell rings, Arafat heads towards his class and sits down, holding his pen and devoting all his focus to the words of his teacher. Arafat had long waited for moments like this inside a classroom, ever since he and his mother came to Türkiye three years ago from Somalia. 

“When I arrived in Türkiye, I did not know anything about the country, not even the Turkish language. I would sit alone at home without friends to spend time with.” 

Although coming to a new country with hope and inner strength, he faced many challenges, owing largely to the lack of financial resources and inability to socialize. Spending time at a relative’s home in Ankara was helpful, but his mother decided to move to Mersin in search of better work opportunities. With the help of one of her friends, she was able to find a small house and began working, although it was barely enough to meet their daily needs. 

Arafat continued to spend his days alone in their new home. However, his dreams and ambitions prompted him to develop new skills, learning English by watching television and YouTube videos. 

"Are these children with bags on their backs going to school? I wish one day I could go to school like them," Arafat's mother recalls him asking as they went together to the shop. 

Now settling into their new lives in Mersin, all Arafat wanted was to go to school. He had always dreamed of becoming a doctor. One day, his mother's friend told her about a Centre that could help her and her son. 

Counsellors at the Mersin Municipal Migrant and Community Centre, run by the International Organization for Migration and the Mersin Metropolitan Municipality, discussed with the mother-son duo the options for commencing Arafat's education.  

Soon after, Arafat arrived at the Centre and began Turkish language learning sessions, offered in coordination with the Ministry of National Education’s Public Education Centers, which continued for seven months. Arafat then enrolled in school for the first time, laying the building blocks of his dream of becoming a doctor. 

“I was very happy when my mother told me I could go to school to learn and make friends.”   

Arafat is now in the fifth grade, happy to be in school for the first time in his life. 

Although they look back with sadness at the lives they left behind in Somalia, Arafat has is optimistic to have a new daily routine: go to school in the morning, return home, complete his homework, and spend quality time with his mother. 

IOM supports four Municipal Migrant and Community Centres nationwide, which provide comprehensive assistance to those in need – from legal and protection to health, vocational guidance, social services, and education counselling. This is made possible by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM). 

Written by Enver Muhammed, IOM Türkiye Communications Specialist