Life has brought Mustafa Faisal through several countries. His family had been looking for years a shelter from the war. The young student was born in the city of Fallujah, Iraq, and now, at 26, thinks he has finally found the place where he wants and can live quietly. After completing the master program, which he follows at the Academy of Economic Studies, he wants to settle permanently in Bucharest.
Mustafa’s story is repeated in thousands or perhaps hundreds of thousands of cases and, in fact, reveals the dramas that people who have had the misfortune of being born in conflict areas, such as Iraq, go through.
The young man is part of a large family, he has two brothers and two sisters and with his parents he had to take the exile way from very young. “In 2006, due to the uncertainty that has taken over Iraq, my father decided to leave home and go to live in Syria. I enrolled in school there. After three years, we thought about returning to Iraq, but at one point the situation in my country got worse again. Dad decided that it was best for our family to go to live in Jordan. I stayed in Jordan until 2015, and when the time came for me to start my university studies, I decided to choose an institution in Europe,” says Mustafa.
He arrived in Romania thanks to a friend who was already living here. He did not come to Bucharest for the first time, he stopped first in Pitești, where he attended a preparatory year of the Romanian language. “I searched for information on the Internet about European universities. I asked for relations from all who were from different countries on the continent. Fortunately, one of my friends, Abdullah, lived in Romania. He convinced me that this is my place,” explains Mustafa.
Before arriving at the University of Pitesti, he had to study individually the Romanian language. He learned quickly, so the procedure for coming to Romania was not a complicated one, being granted a study permit.
The year spent in the city of Pitesti helped him to adapt better to the life in our country. He met a lot of people who supported him. Some are Romanians, others, like him, have come from abroad to study in Romania.
For Mustafa, our country is not just the place where he studies. Coming to Romania helped him on all levels. During the discussion, he confessed to me that he found his love here, being engaged to a girl from Brazil, who also came to study in Romania.
A city with important tourist attractions
After the preparatory year of the Romanian language, he enrolled in the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. In the meantime, he managed to get his degree in international economic relations, and now is a student in a master program at the same educational institution.
Mustafa’s life has already entered a line and flows like many lives of those living in the Romanian capital. The young man studies, but also works to maintain himself. For more than two years, he has worked in a jewelry and semi-precious stones shop.
He has adapted very quickly to the environment in which he lives. He says he has never felt foreigner in Bucharest. In fact, for Mustafa, the capital of Romania is at home, because here he found peace. Bucharest means peace for the young student, the lack of that fear that you have to flee the war.
Mustafa has been so attached to Bucharest that he never ceases to promote the city. “I really like Bucharest because it has important tourist attractions. I recommend to those who come to Romania to go and see the Parliament Palace. There are also many museums in Bucharest. I saw the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant, the National Art Museum of Romania and the National Museum of Romanian History. The journey through Bucharest can be done using public transport, which includes buses, trams and subway lines. You can also rent cars. For the tourist visiting the city, finding a place to eat is not difficult. The city has a large number of restaurants. Some offer traditional Romanian specialties, others are focused on different international cuisines. There are also many fast food restaurants. Also, in Bucharest there are many malls and parks, but also many places from which souvenirs can be bought. Due to the economic recovery of the last years and the increasing number of tourists, Bucharest has also developed the accommodation system. There are hotels, guesthouses, but also the networks of apartments that can be rented in the short term,” points out Mustafa.
And as the capital of Romania offers so many opportunities, the young man wants, after completing his master’s degree, to find a job in the field in which he studied. “I want to live here, because I got used to it and I like it a lot,” concludes Mustafa Faisal.
