At 30, Ahmed Adam’s dream to become an aviation engineer is finally in sight, and he now hopes to be able to share this ‘chapter’ of his life with those participating in a ‘Human Library’ event in Valletta next week.
“As a child, I remember looking up at the sky and feeling some connection with the planes flying above me,” he said.
Ahmed’s dream to become an aviation engineer. He is seen here doing maintenance works in a hangar.“Now that I’ve started my studies that will eventually lead to aviation engineering, I feel that I finally found my place. I fit in. It is quite satisfying knowing that one day you can help make people feel safe while travelling.
“For some years now, this has been my goal in life, so ever since leaving Sudan, I have spent every waking minute working and saving up. I cannot give up on my dream. It’s my dream – I’ve chased it and I’m determined to catch it.”
Ahmed is one of seven asylum seekers participating in an event called ‘Human Library’ that he hopes will help locals understand that most people – no matter their origins – are striving for the same thing: a better future.
“In all of Europe – not just Malta – people might fear those originating from Africa. I believe that if you sit down to speak to people, no matter where they come from, you’ll realise that at the end of the day we are all humans and we aren’t much different from each other.
I didn’t come here to create problems, I am just searching for a better life like everyone else
"I didn’t come here to create problems, I am just searching for a better life like everyone else,” he told Times of Malta ahead of Human Library. During the event, people can ‘read’ a chapter in the life of Ahmed and other asylum seekers.
JRS Malta – an NGO which defends the rights of asylum seekers – believes this is the best way to fight misconceptions, prejudice and divide among the local population and people who landed here in search of a better life.
'Impossible to study in Sudan, impossible to survive in Libya'
Ahmed arrived in Malta in 2019. He left Sudan in 2018 because of political reasons and spent a year in Libya just saving up to continue his trip.
He recounts how it was impossible for him to study in Sudan and nearly impossible to even survive in Libya.
Since landing in Malta, he has had several jobs, however, he speaks most fondly of his two years working at a Dingli bakery, where he not only learned how to bake local bread, but also picked up Maltese vocabulary during his daily encounters with customers.
Since he worked night shifts, the job also allowed him enough time during the day to study. He is now following an MCAST course in aircraft maintenance and has just been accepted for an apprenticeship and awarded a sponsorship.
Ahmed explains, however, that he had initially felt lost, and it was only when he approached JRS that he understood the procedures to register for work, find gainful employment and start his studies.
The support he found from the NGO, he said, changed his life “360 degrees in the right way”.
How will it work?
A number of ‘books’ – asylum seekers and professionals who work with them – will be sitting around the hall. At the entrance, participants can skim through the short biography of each. Then, just as one would do at a normal library, they decide which story they want to know better.
Every ‘book’ will sit with no more than three people at one go and each encounter will take around 20 minutes. Participants are free to questions or revisit a ‘book’ they already read.
Human Library, co-funded by the EU, is being organised by JRS Malta and trans-national project FAB!, Family-Based care for children in migration, on February 27 at the Palazzo De La Salle, Society of Arts, in Valletta. The event starts at 6pm.
The last group will be allowed to enter at 9pm. Those who would like to participate are being encouraged to register online, and they are being asked to commit to being respectful to the other participants, especially considering that asylum seekers will be sharing difficult moments of their lives. More information here.