“Give me a chance to go to school, to achieve my dreams and to continue my life normally, just like other children,” said Mojib, 11, a child of an asylum seeker from Iran, during a rally on Wednesday in front of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Makassar, South Sulawesi.
Mojib is the youngest son of Iranian couple Khalil and Fataneh Sayed. His parents brought him and his older brother to Indonesia as refugees in 2012 as their home country was no longer safe.
When he arrived in Makassar, Mojib had never gone to school as he was only six years old at the time. However, during his stay in the city Mojib has still never gone to school. He has only learned how to read and write at home. His education is minimal. He cannot yet read or write fluently.
“He can only write his name with ease,” said his mother, Fataneh.
Mojib is longing to become a doctor. That is why he hopes he can be immediately moved to a third country so that his citizenship status will be clear and he can live a normal life.
“I want to go to Australia, to study there until I become a doctor,” Mojib said.
Romina Pou Bihanta, 12, shared a similar story. Together with her parents, Romina has been in Makassar for four years. When they left their country, she was a second grader.
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