From Cairo Classrooms to a Belgian Lecture Hall: Othman’s Journey of Return, Hope, and Rediscovery
From Cairo Classrooms to a Belgian Lecture Hall: Othman’s Journey of Return, Hope, and Rediscovery
Othman Mazin standing in one of Leuven's streets, where his journey from Cairo classrooms continues as he pursues new opportunities through complementary pathways.
At 23 years old, Othman Mazin carries only faint memories of the country he was born in. He left Iraq at the age of three, when his parents made the difficult decision to flee escalating instability in the early 2000s. Egypt quickly became the only home he truly knew.
“I grew up here. Egypt is where I learned everything, how to read, how to dream, how to see the world,” Othman says. “Iraq was just a word I heard at home.”
Like thousands of refugee families, Othman’s parents sought safety and a chance to rebuild their lives. He attended school in Cairo, enrolled in Egyptian public schools, completed every grade in Cairo, and built building childhood friendships that would last him a lifetime.
“My life here was stable,” he says. “I never felt different from anyone.”
When he finished high school, Othman applied for the DAFI scholarship, a program supported by UNHCR that enables refugee youth to pursue higher education. To his surprise, he was accepted and began studying law at Ain Shams University in Cairo.
For four years, he thrived. He studied late into the night, volunteered, and started imagining what his future might hold. But nothing could prepare him for the phone call that changed the direction of his life.
One afternoon, Othman received a call from one of UNHCR’s implementing partners. They told him that KU Leuven University in Belgium was offering a master’s degree scholarship in European policies and public administration and encouraged him to apply.
“I applied, but honestly, I had no hope at all,” he admits with a smile. “I kept thinking, why would they choose me? What would they see in me?”
But they did.
Against every expectation he had, Othman soon found himself packing his bags and boarding his first flight to Europe.
“It felt like a dream, or like something that was happening too fast. One moment I was in Cairo, the next I was on a plane heading into the unknown.”
Founded in 1425, KU Leuven is the oldest university in Belgium and one of the most prestigious in Europe. For Othman, stepping onto the campus in Leuven, a city of bicycles, cobbled streets, and Gothic architecture, felt like entering another world.
His first semester wasn’t easy.
“Everything was difficult at first, the studies, the culture, even the weather,” he says with a laugh. “I wasn’t used to the cold at all.”
But slowly, day after day, things began to change.
“With every passing day, something became a little easier. I started understanding more, adapting more, and I began to enjoy the challenge.”
Living alone for the first time taught Othman a different kind of independence.
“Life here is very different from Egypt. You do everything on your own, and you are on your own. But I’m learning from it. I’m starting to love it, even the difficult parts.”
He describes Belgian culture as quiet, structured, and reserved—something that initially felt unfamiliar after Cairo’s warmth and energy.
“The people, the way of life, it’s all new. But new isn’t bad. It’s opening my eyes.”
What Othman didn’t fully realize at the time was that his journey to Belgium reflected a growing set of opportunities available to refugees in Egypt. Alongside traditional resettlement, UNHCR Egypt works with universities, partners, and organizations that offer safe and legal avenues for refugees to further their studies or careers abroad. These initiatives, often referred to as complementary pathways, allow refugees to apply directly for opportunities such as scholarships, family reunification, or even labor mobility programs like those run with Talent Beyond Boundaries. For many young people like Othman, these pathways quietly open doors to education and stability in third countries, while ensuring their protection and dignity are maintained.
As he looks ahead to the rest of his studies, Othman feels something he didn’t expect when he first applied for that scholarship: confidence. “I still don’t know exactly where life will take me,” he says. “But now I believe that I can be part of something bigger. I believe I can give back, to Egypt, to Iraq, to refugees like me.”
For a young man who left a country he doesn’t remember and grew up in one that embraced him, the journey is more than academic achievement. It is a quiet return to possibility.
“All my life, doors opened because someone believed in me,” he says. “Now I want to become the person who opens doors for others.”
