Ramiz Abdelghani

Syria

On his office table, located at AlMutella point in the Zaa’tari Camp, Ramiz keeps a small paper flag of his country that flutters whenever there is a slight breeze, along with a family photo and a framed certificate for the One Million Arab Coders Data Analysis course. Written on its wooden frame is the phrase “Praise be to Allah”.

Ramiz arrived at this camp seven years ago. He left behind many painful memories from Syria. He was determined to heal, pick up his dreams and bring them back to life.

Ramiz, who obtained a degree in mathematics, initially hoped to teach it to refugees in the camp. But there were rules against it in “Zaa’tari”, where there are more than 80,000 people.

Still, his dream stuck with him and he vowed it would come true one day.

He says “We needed help, someone who believed in us and provided more than food and drink. The day I heard about the One Million Arab Coders initiative and the authorities finally hooked us up with regular internet, I told myself I want to learn”.

Within two months, Ramiz was pursuing his studies at dawn to benefit from the internet speed when others slept. He hid notes of paper under his bed, the safest place from the damp air. He chased his dreams when those around him insisted they were only clouds in the sky.

Today in his office, as the Head of Data Analysis with the Norwegian Refugee Council, Ramiz tells a thousand stories about how his life has changed, about his new job and about the office he had passed by many times without visiting even once.

Today, the key to this office is entrusted to him!

He talks about his family, about those around him, how their positivity flatters him and about how he has grown to become a coding teacher. On his wooden chair, Ramiz tells a thousand stories entitled “The world still holds a place for dreams”.