“Ukrainian is the language of free people.” How political refugees fleeing persecution in Ukraine live and volunteer

“My stepfather worked at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium. He returned home, and after a few months the Islamic Corps came and confiscated all our property. There was a big “revolutionary” court, there was no defense, no lawyer.

The stepfather was tried for a long time, as if he had a connection with the Kingdom, although he was an ordinary worker. Then it came to the shooting.”– recalls Muhammad.

Friends of his family had connections, negotiated with the authorities for a very long time, and in the end the execution was canceled. The whole family was sent from Tehran to a closed village for 5 years, without permission to leave.

“My mother worked in the library of the University of Tehran. During that year, her psyche was destroyed, she stopped speaking and remained silent for a year and a half. It was difficult to consult a doctor,” the man recalls.

It was very difficult for Muhammad to study at school. He was treated badly because his parents were in exile.

“Then the war with Iraq began. At that time, the “Islamic dream” was advertised a lot in our country, we were called to protect and spread Islam. There was a great influence on children, especially at school.

As a teenager, I learned to be a good and submissive Muslim against fanaticism,” Muhammad says.

There were a lot of bans in Iran, especially on books and music. But at the age of 17-18, the boy began to doubt what was imposed on him.

“I was ready to blow myself up for the sake of a spiritual leader, to die for the sake of Islam. But when I realized that this is cruel and that it cannot be imposed by violence, the threat to my life and my family began.

In high school, I was the head of the Islamic youth movement, and when there was doubt, we split up. Questions arose again about my father, about the past, about exile. Then there was a lot of pressure, they started threatening me,” the man says.

In order to protect his family, Muhamed started working and providing for himself. Tried to come home less and live somewhere else more often.

“I was once told that it is better not to live in Iran, and then when everything calms down, to return home. They helped me get a visa. One night, friends called me suddenly and said that I should leave today and not lock the door. That was the first time I came to Ukraine, not knowing anything about it.”

At the end of 1996, Muhamed came to Ukraine in a jacket and shirt. The guy had a small bag, towel, toothpaste, books, two cassettes and 12 dollars with him.

Muhammad did not know where to go. In the capital, he found one Iranian store and started talking to the employees, but all the time he was afraid to talk too much.

“I didn’t want to be a refugee. I wanted to survive and come home. I never wanted to find a new economic standard of living or comfort, I just wanted to live.

‍It was very painful because I couldn’t go home, I had to wait. I called every week and asked if it was possible to return, I was told “no, wait a little longer.” I had good friends in the Islamic Guard Corps who were just helping me survive. They believed that I am not an evil person, I just have a different way of thinking,” Muhamed recalls.

When the boy said goodbye to his mother, he said that he was going on a business trip for 2 weeks. But it turned out to be forever.

In Ukraine, Muhammad read the Bible in Persian for the first time in his life – he remembers this event as one of the most important in his life.

“I was greatly influenced by Christianity. Not some sect, but the Bible itself, which talked about freedom, faith, love. When I first read the Bible in Ukraine, I was surprised. You can’t imagine how happy I was. I thought it didn’t exist in Persian.

When I was studying, we were told that it was written there, how to rape and sin. I had the mindset that Christians are evil. We were taught to be ready to kill Christians. It’s terrible, I was very hurt, very ashamed of it.

Thank God I did not go down this path thanks to information, books. I accepted Christianity, officially renounced Islam and decided that I will spread Christianity among Muslims,” ​​says Muhammad.

Together with a friend, he formed a community of believers who wanted to accept Christianity and serve in Persian. There was no official church then, but among themselves they were called the “Iranian church”.

Iranians wrote a lot of letters to Ukrainian churches, which responded to requests for help, bought Bibles from Europe.

However, the refugee’s life was under close supervision. In those days, there were many informers among foreigners, so Muhammad’s new faith was quickly learned at the Iranian Embassy.

“I was invited and told to stop doing this, you have no right, this is also our land.” When I needed documents and applied to the embassy, ​​I was refused.

They demanded “write down an appeal to the Leader with an apology, give an interview that the Christians deceived you, offered you money.” They said “we are allowed to behead people like you. You can change your faith, but you must remain silent.” I was in the mosque, my hands were shaking,” the man recalls with horror.

After the threats, Muhammad spoke less about Christianity in public. But the information about the “Iranian church” spread among his compatriots.

Then he decided to just live, despite the fear.

“Life goes on. I didn’t want to put it on hold and wait until I could return home. It was just such a period of my life. I was a family person who loves life. “Refugee” is not my character, not my description, so I just decided to live,” Muhamed shares.

The man turned to “Rokada” for help. The process of obtaining asylum in Ukraine was long.

Muhammed could not get an official job for a long time, he took any job.

“It’s very difficult, because I had to work “in the dark”, get less money and if the employer refused to give money, I couldn’t go to the police. In many places they didn’t give me money, I returned empty-handed.
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I worked as both a plumber and a construction worker, and then I thought about working in a taxi. UNHCR provided grants for the establishment and support of businesses. Rokada helped me prepare and submit an application for such a grant. Then, with the help of friends and the fund, I bought my first car, which I still have,” says the man.

Muhamed began to learn Russian, which was very common at the time, and later – Ukrainian. Met and married a Ukrainian woman, became a father.

Now the couple has four children.

“We adopted the oldest when she was 7 years old. We went to court for a long time to get the documents. When people heard “Iranian,” they thought I wanted to steal the child. It was difficult, but we succeeded. She is the oldest, and she is already married,” says Muhamed.

Subsequently, Muhamed decided to realize one of his dreams – to enter the theological academy in Sviatoshyn district. In 5 years, he graduated and received a diploma.

During the years when the man lived in the status of a refugee, there were difficult times. Sometimes Muhammed spent the whole day walking the streets in search of work, but returned with nothing.

At the same time, the man tried to help his compatriots: some Iranians turned to his church because they needed a translator for the hospital and the migration service.

In 2010-2011, he was asked several times to translate at the UN office – this helped Muhammed to better master the Ukrainian language. And in 2012, the man was invited to work at the Rokada Foundation.

“It was more than just a job. I was told to come because they needed an assistant who knows Iranian. It was my first official job and I felt like a worthy person.

People treated me with respect. When you are a foreigner, people usually immediately think that you are evil and you have to prove that you have no bad intentions. And here I was immediately accepted as a relative,” the man recalls.

Muhammad was often present as an interpreter during psychological consultations. The experience was therapeutic for him as well.

“I realized a lot about myself. Every story was about my life, every tear was the tears of my soul for many years. And I was ready to be next to every seeker of protection.

He immediately said that you should go learn the Ukrainian language, be a part of Ukrainian society, and not just go somewhere… These were the happiest times of my life, when I could help women and children from Afghanistan and other countries,” says Muhamed.

Then another event awaited the man – the long-awaited citizenship.

“In 2016, I received the citizenship of Ukraine. The president’s office sent me a letter like “We welcome you, we accept you as citizens”. It was the greatest happiness, like my first birthday. That’s how I became a citizen of Ukraine,” says Muhamed.

When the project at “Rokada” was completed, the man went to work at more profitable jobs. Shortly before the start of the great war, he was invited to the Arab Emirates.

They offered to move to Dubai, issue a residence permit, and then deduct from the salary the money spent on the flight and documents.

“I went, passed their driving test, started learning the language. In February 2022, I had my last test to get a driver’s license. I got my license with a unique date of 24.02. And at 7 in the morning, one of my daughters called me with the words: “Dad, they are bombing here, the war has started here, we are afraid,” Muhamed recalls.

The man tried to return home as soon as possible, but there were no plane tickets. Muhammed was in touch with his friends and asked for help for his daughters, who were in a bomb shelter at school.

“My daughter was very afraid, she couldn’t sleep at night, she felt very sick, and I didn’t know how to help. I found one ticket to Poland. At work, I said that I had to go to my family.

They told me, “You can’t do that, we spent the money,” but I said, “I’ll return everything, but I have to save my family and be there,” the man recalls.

Muhamed took the children from Kyiv to Lviv, and then sent them to Poland.

“Everyone was feeling bad. I didn’t know which of my daughters to hug and calm down so that they felt safe. The children had a cat and a dog, and they gave birth to four kittens and five puppies at that time. The people on the train were unhappy, but we couldn’t leave the animals,” says Muhamed.

Upon returning to Kyiv at the beginning of March, the man began to take out other people who needed help. For example, I learned from various churches, neighbors and friends who needed evacuation. They were mostly elderly and disabled people who could not evacuate on their own.

The man began to take them out in his car, take them to the station, send them to safer places. He also handed old people medicine, food, and bread donated by the church.

“I called Rokada and said that I am here, I am not going to go anywhere, I am choosing my country. I am in debt to Ukraine, and I want to help my native people.

‍Maybe they consider me a foreigner, but I believe that our lives in Ukraine are interconnected. When there is a chance to do something, you have to help,” Muhamed believes.

After the deoccupation of Buchi and Irpen, Muhamed also brought medicines, clothes, and food to the residents of Kyiv Region. Now Muhamed works as a social worker and a case manager for IDPs. His job is to build a bridge between the immigrant and the state.

“Displaced persons are different from refugees. They know the language, traditions, law, but they also need information and psychological support.

They no longer have a past, and the future is unknown. We are trying to make it clear that life goes on, there is kindness, people, the state and organizations that are trying to create a platform to grow again. We help you find housing, issue a pension, process documents, and obtain disability documents. A lot of people have had a stroke or a heart attack since the beginning of the war and they need constant care,” Muhamed explains.

Muhamed’s family is currently in Poland. The youngest daughter graduated from school and received a diploma. Muhammad misses them, but waits until it is safer to bring the children home.

Of course, we asked Muhammed what he likes most in Ukraine. And his answer is people.

“I love people first of all. They are very simple, very kind. Secondly, this is the most beautiful nature in the world. When I came from Poland to Ukraine in March 2022, it was just a different feeling, I kissed the ground at the border, although I was not looked at as crazy.

Ukraine smells like life itself. Of course, there is life everywhere, but here there is tradition. They are very traditional and family-oriented people who love their family, culture, and food,” says the man.

After all, Muhamed was able to realize his old dream in Ukraine.

“I am 54 years old. For a very long time in my life I had a dream to understand music. Because we did not learn music and at the time when I studied it was a sin.

I was afraid to realize my dream. But a year ago I picked up the guitar and started learning on my own. Now I say to everyone – live while there is time!” – calls Muhammad.