Rafal Raad Mousa, 18, whose former pseudonym on Migrant Tales was Saboora,* is a very happy young woman together with her family. After a three-year wait in Finland, Rafal and her family of two brothers, sister, and mother now have a residence permit.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read the letter and my mother started crying,” she said. “This residence permit took four years to get; we were one year in Turkey and three years in Finland.”
Rafal want to study and get a profession.
“I want to become a pharmacist after I graduate from high school,” she said. “After I graduate as a pharmacist, I’ll start studying painting.”
Rafal says that she likes to paint “because it’s fun.”
Those who know Rafal understand that painting is a way for her to make sense of her life, which has seen its fair share of strife and uncertainty.
On behalf of Migrant Tales and our readers, we wish Rafal and her family much success and a better life in Finland.
The “Moon and me” by Rafal Raad Mousa.
This second painting by Rafal depicts that the journey her family took from Turkey to Greece. She said it only took 45 minutes.
Rafal’s journey long journey from Iraq to Finland. She lived one year in Turkey before coming to Finland.
* Rafal’s real name was changed because she was an asylum seeker.