“My mother has diabetes and high blood pressure. Since I can remember I have been responsible for doing the dishes, cooking and cleaning the house. My dad was away a lot for work so I was the one taking care of my mother and brother. I had to grow up really fast. It was hard but I would always hide my tears because I didn’t want my mum to feel guilty.
I am a law student and I hope to become a judge one day. It is strange because on the one hand, I know I had a tough childhood but on the other hand, it is because of my experiences as a child that I have l have this strong determination to become someone.”
(Tunis, Tunisia)

More stories?

By buying this book you are directly contributing to the continuation of Humans of Amsterdam.

Get the book

See more

3/3 “I always wanted to learn how to play basketball so I googled: How to play basketball? in Arabic. I only got English search results so that is when I realized I needed to learn English. Since I only had an education until the age of 9, a lot of basic things like...

2/3 ''My friend told me that my youngest brother got murdered. He got into trouble with a group of criminals in Aleppo and they killed him. I immediately packed my stuff and I went back to Aleppo for the funeral. The next day, after the funeral my father and...

(4/4) "Years later, we found out, through a reconstruction based on stories from different people, that Sadif was seen carrying Enesa through the forest while she was already dead. People had told him to leave her body behind. Sadif had told them that he wouldn’t...