The story of Rahel Ahmed- logistics manager in Iraq

Würde man Rahel Ahmeds Verhältnis zu seiner Arbeit mit einem Wort beschreiben, dann wäre es „Stolz“. Der 25-jährige Logistikmanager unseres lokalen Teams im Irak ist stolz darauf, seinen Teil zur Versorgung der Menschen in den Flüchtlingscamps beizutragen, in denen arche noVa aktiv ist. Aber auch seine Kollegen sind stolz auf Rahel Ahmed, denn er ist immer mit vollem Einsatz dabei.

Whenever it rings at the door in the arche noVa office, he is the first to open it. Whenever he is asked for help, no task is too difficult for him. He takes care of everything. Where does this tremendous motivation therefore come from? "I am very grateful for the opportunity to work for arche noVa. I would probably be in a very dark and difficult situation without this job”, Rahel Ahmed explains.

To understand this statement, you need to take a look on Rahel Ahmed's story: until 2015, he was the coordinator of the IT and Finance Department of the Cihan University in Erbil, in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq. He was satisfied with his life and work until he became increasingly aware of the economic crisis in the country. The work got more and more, while his wage sank. As he could not stand this any longer, he terminated and looked for another job.

But he was nowhere near the only one. Many people lost their jobs and had to live from their saved money. Rahel Ahmed’s social surrounding also had to gain this experience. "Going to Europe" became a fixed point in the conversations of the friends. Six of them actually set off, only except Rahel Ahmed and another friend. Through social media, they followed the journey of the fugitives.

The media reported the problems and dangers: starting from the terrible boat trip to Greece, where they saw drowned people; about the exhausting wait for the decision on their resignation applications, when they finally reached Europe. All this news discouraged the young man, but he was desperate enough to start his own journey in early 2016.

Rahel Ahmed's family was shocked by his decision. They tried to persuade him to stay by all means. But his father, Abdulrahman, long-time employee of arche nova, had the rescuing idea: he knew about a free position as a logistics specialist at arche nova and encouraged his son to apply. He did so and was actually hired. Rahel Ahmed is very satisfied with his work. he spends 50 percent of his time working in the office while the other 50 percentare on the road searching for necessary products and materials that arche noVa needs for the smooth implementation of the project in Iraq. 

Rahel Ahmed says that the work has also changed his view of the conflict in his country: "Through the contact with the internal displaced persons in the camps, I realized one thing: Everyone has their own story. But what is connecting is the suffering that they have to endure". That's why he is proud as soon as he sees on his camp visits how arche noVa ensures the water supply of thousands of people. He has become an indispensable part in this process.