Every day, people worldwide are forced to make one of the most difficult decisions of their lives: leaving their homes in search of safety and a better future. These individuals are more than just ‘refugees’, ‘asylum seekers’, or ‘status holders’ – they are people with a name, a story and the immense strength and unwavering will to build a new life. In the end, escaping war, violence and oppression is not a choice, but often the only way to protect your life and that of your family.
To highlight the significance of #WorldRefugeeDay | #WereldVluchtelingenDag, we have visited ‘Bakkie doen?’ – a beautiful initiative created by @vluchtelingenwerk.nederland (The Dutch Council for Refugees) to form connections between new or future Dutch citizens and the old. For those not familiar with the Dutch phrase “Bakkie doen?”, it’s probably the most casual way of asking: “want to have a chat over a cup of coffee?”. Which is exactly what today’s event was all about – bridging worlds, removing prejudices, and finding commonalities over a universal cup of coffee.
And with that, we want to thank Ribal (@rk_pho), Youssef (@jeozef10), and Mohamed (@hamode.bibi) for sharing stories about their lives, dreams and aspirations, and listening to ours. ♡
