5. We Are Just Like You: Nujeen Mustafa on Disability and Difference While Fleeing Syria's War

Born to a Kurdish family, Nujeen was an earnest young woman who loved football and enriched her mind through documentaries. But unlike most teens her age, she didn't go to school because of her disability. In spite of the cards she was dealt, Nujeen was defiant and fought for a better future — eventually going on a 3,500 mile journey to escape the war in Syria on a wheelchair.

In this episode, we’ll hear about how Nujeen resettled as a student and activist in Germany, gaining global visibility as one BBC’s 100 most influential and inspiring women for her disability and refugee rights advocacy. Through her story, we explore the migration of communities impacted by war and turmoil, as well as the grit needed to start a life in a new culture and community.

Learn from expert voices: Boram Lee, a disability advisor from the Women’s Refugee Commission and Dr. Steven Heydemann, the Director of Middle East Studies at Smith College in Massachusetts and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.