“Ever since my last visit to then West Germany back in 1987, I always wanted to have a life in Europe, particularly in Germany. My mentor, however, advised me to get my Ph. D. in America before I make a move to Germany. I took his advice and received Ph. D. in mathematics, specializing in Game Theory, under the supervision of Professor Lloyd S. Shapley, 2012 Nobel laureate in Economics. Upon receiving my degree back in 2004 I had an opportunity to work in Europe but I had to turn down all the offers due to my personal problems.

My dissertation is to build a purely mathematical solution to a bargaining problem. During the period I had worked on my dissertation, both Afghanistan and Iraq war broke out. I was furious at US foreign policy and was in turn motivated to develop this purely mathematical model into a model which can be used in the real world, among other things, to prevent unnecessary wars. My effort was not successful though, largely because of my mental health.

For the past 10 years or so I was basically a retired mathematician and had to watch helplessly as the Syrian war refugee crisis unfolded. As I learned how Syrian refugees rebuild their lives in Germany through IT media, I thought it would be wonderful to be able to teach mathematics to refugee students and rebuild my own European dream in Germany.

My original plan was to donate some money to a refugee camp and request a German language education in return for my offer of mathematics education. In the process of contacting governmental organizations both in the Netherlands and Germany, I found the “Excellence Center in Europe”.

I joined the Excellence Center family on the 18 December 2019. It is an oasis in a desert. Excellence Center gave me an opportunity to teach mathematics to students who went through the horror of the war. I have also developed my English language teaching skills. But above all, Rafat Shantir, the person who is in charge of the program, is the gem of all gems. He is a God father-like figure to the refugee students. He takes care of refugee students as if they were his children. He also helps me in a lot of ways whenever I run into a problem, starting out a new life in a country where I do not speak the language. I also learn German here and I hope to become either a professor or a school teacher in Germany one day.

Unfortunately, I arrived in Germany with a tourist visa and therefore have to leave within 90 days of my arrival. But I am coming back to volunteer in Germany!”