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Anas visits a class at the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) where he took several courses in order for his diploma to be recognized.
But Anas had never given up on a career in engineering, and the setback of losing his business allowed him to focus fully on his goal. While running the catering business, he had begun researching Brazilian universities that offered the same courses he had studied. This led him to Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) in the nearby city of Niterói, and to Professor Paula Brandão, who would become a pivotal figure for him by overseeing the revalidation of his degree in Brazil.
A tailored approach
“Anas moved me a lot from day one,” said Brandão. “I explained to him the whole procedure that we had a commission, that he would be welcomed, that his entire professional career would be well observed, that he should keep calm. But I understood from that moment on that he would spare no effort to achieve the revalidation to which he was entitled.”
While Anas worked hard to improve his Portuguese language skills, Brandão helped him identify which courses he would need to take for his diploma to be recognized at UFF. Every individual case is different, she explained, requiring a tailored approach.
New pledges to support refugees
Building on this success, the SVMC is proposing additional pledges at the 2023 Global Refugee Forum such as strengthening mental health support for refugees, offering Portuguese classes, legal assistance services and amplifying activities to improve public policies. SVMC is also expanding beyond Brazil to include universities in Costa Rica, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Italy, Serbia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The GRF is the world’s largest international gathering on refugees, which will take place from 13-15 December in Geneva. Students, refugees, academic institutions, politicians and diplomats, civil society, and many others will unite to address the challenges faced by refugees and those who host them.
After two years of hard work, and with the support of Brandão and others at UFF, Anas’ degree was formerly recognized in 2017. “It was very emotional for me because it felt like a part of me got restored. As if my identity came back to me,” he explained.
Today, Anas lives in Rio, speaks fluent Portuguese, holds Brazilian citizenship and works as a project manager for an IT consultancy. While he misses Syria and the friends and family he left behind, he says Brazil now feels like home.
“Having this diploma revalidated was so significant to me. It helped me get a job. It helped me integrate into Brazilian society. It helped me become a different person – or the person I always wanted to be actually.”
“Our house got seriously damaged,” she recounts. “Lots of people became homeless in the refugee and local communities. Our livestock also died.”
Although less severe, cyclones Charlene in 2021 and Ana in 2022 also impacted the camp. Tongogara is regularly and increasingly exposed to cyclones, heavy rains, and scorching temperatures. The nearby Sabi river floods regularly, forcing refugees to flee their shelters and in the summer, temperatures frequently reach 45°C. In the Southern Africa region, other camps for refugees and internally displaced people in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia, are equally climate-vulnerable.
“All these disasters made me realize how people can lose their livelihoods, their houses; how their lives can change in a minute. What I experienced and witnessed in the camp made me want to act,” says Jeanne, explaining her decision to join the Refugee Coalition for Climate Action (RCCA), a group created by young refugee activists in April 2020 to sensitize camp residents to the impacts of climate change and the necessity of preserving their environment.
“When I became course coordinator, I thought this was a bureaucratic position,” Brandão said. “[But] I began to realize in my daily work that these were life experiences. Each student comes with their own story, each student has their [strengths], their difficulties, and you learn a lot yourself.”
UFF is one of 41 universities across Brazil involved in this inclusive programme as part of the Sergio Vieira de Mello Chairs (SVMC), a partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, named in honour of the Brazilian UN diplomat killed along with 21 of his colleagues in a bomb attack in Iraq in 2003.
The SVMC pledged at the 2019 Global Refugee Forum (GRF) to “promote inclusion for refugees and other displaced persons”, which it does through research, teaching, advocacy and policymaking focused on refugee issues, including the revalidation of diplomas to allow refugees to pursue careers in their areas of expertise. Almost 500 diplomas have been revalidated by the consortium in Brazil over the last five years.
