“I don’t like to be addressed as a refugee,” says Alaa Mohamed Al
siddiq (31), an activist from the United Arab Emirates, now in London. She prefers to be addressed “as a survivor, as a human being.” Alaa left the UAE, facing government persecution for her political activities. Many of her peers were arrested. “I didn’t feel safe there,” she recounts. Her Emirati citizenship was withdrawn, an obstacle which made her feel “that I’m punished, being in an exile just for asking for my basic rights… I really love my country, so I want to represent it. And I want to see a change to see it improve, to see the development.” She is currently seeking asylum in the UK, where she feels she has a “wonderful life.” Her experiences have taught her to “live in the moment” and to be strong and self-reliant, she says. She dreams of getting a PhD in a political field, painting, and continuing to work in advocacy- “until something change and I will go back to my country and I will be a minister for foreign affairs.”
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