Kurdish refugee from Kobane shares journey with FC Barcelona

Rudaw
FC Barcelona's recent football match against Celta Vigo was officially a 2-2 draw, but not all goals are counted in the net.

"You may feel a little bit down today, and like the world was horrible, and the world's just going bad, nobody understands you, you'll never achieve anything in your life," said one FC Barcelona fan.

"But believe me, you are stronger and braver than you think."

Those were the words of Nujeen Mustafa, an 18-year-old Kurdish woman who escaped her besieged hometown of Kobane during the Syrian civil war in 2015, after attending her first Barça match and meeting players including one of the best in the world, Lionel Messi.

Mustafa has long been a Barcelona fan, but has never attended a match. The club surprised her by sending the team’s bus to her residence in Germany, so she could make the trip.

Prior to her departure from Cologne, Mustafa’s grandmother wished her a safe journey. Mustafa told her not to worry because she is "an expert on long walks."

Mustafa, who has cerebral palsy, has used a wheelchair since she was a child and for her trek from Syria to Europe that included crossing seas on a raft.


"What is the Barcelona bus doing here? Oh, my god!" exclaimed Mustafa as the bus pulled up to her house.

"Am I sitting in Messi's place?" she asked aboard the bus.

 

FC Barcelona documented Mustafa’s 18-hour ride to Camp Nou, the club’s stadium.

"Hey Nujeen!" Messi tells her in a video recording shown on the bus. "We know about your story and think it's incredible."

Mustafa shared her story of survival, determination and will with the bus’s driver, Manu.

The driver explained the impact of meeting Mustafa and his learning of her experiences.

"I don't think that there will ever be a more amazing and impactful journey for me," he emphasized.

It was Mustafa's first ever time in a football stadium.

 


"I never imagined being in Camp Nou, itself," she said.

Mustafa, who learned English from watching soap operas, had a book published in 2016. It is entitled ‘Nujeen: One Girl's Incredible Journey from War-Torn Syria in a Wheelchair.’

Many people only remember Syria as a war place, she explained during her trip to Barcelona.

"Through writing the book, it was important for me ... to tell people that I was not just a number. I'm a person. I'm not a report you see on the news,” Mustafa said.

"I think the saddest part for me was that part of my life was now gone. No one will ever know how it looked like before the war,” she added.

At the stadium, Mustafa gave the club's president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, a copy of her book. In exchange, he gave her his own Barça lapel.

"We are sharing," he said while kneeling to greet her with a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”

As one Barça player took penalty shot in the match, Mustafa tensely said, "Oh my gosh. He must be so nervous. I don't want to be in his place."

Recently a public debate on refugees, particularly immigration from the Middle East has raged in Germany and Europe.

Mustafa said: "I understand you might fear us because of the fear of the unknown, because that is a natural human tendency... to fear that which you don't understand."

Gerard Piqué, one of the team's players, spoke with Mustafa after the game and gave her a Barça jersey with 'Nujeen' embroidered on the back.

"It's a story of overcoming adversity," said the Spanish defender, “and that's why in the dressing room all the players know about her story..."

"Nujeen, thanks a lot for sharing your dreams with us," he added.