This blog is for those who have left their home due to war in order to seek safety in other countries. I am writing this, especially for those Afghan girls, boys, and families who emigrated around the world, after they realized Afghanistan is not safe anymore. The Taliban violence was threatening their lives every single day.

I understand how it feels to have to leave your home forever. I feel it from the bottom of my heart. It is not easy to leave behind your childhood memories, the culture, the community, and especially your friends. But safety and security must always come first. My own journey taught me so much. I see the world through a very different lens which I would never have been able to see if I did not leave my country.

Today for me emigration does not mean leaving your own country. Today it means to accept the world as your own home. I understand now that “every country can be my country.”

Here is my reasoning. We were created as human beings in this world. There is no difference between humans. The world was created for us, created for the beauty of the world. After the development of science and technology, mankind started to think beyond what was created at the beginning.

Eventually, human beings thought of dividing the world into different geographical locations and separate countries. Each country would have a name and people in that area would belong to that specific country.  Gradually, as the world developed, each country built its own laws and rules, and constructed boundaries separating it from other countries. The laws and boundaries separate human beings from each other.

The fact is that manmade laws came after the creation of human-beings.  The world is the home for every individual. The world is meant for love and peace for every single human-being.

If you immigrate to another country, it does not mean the new country cannot be your home. If you left your people, it does not mean people in the new country cannot be your people. This realization really helped me understand the beauty of the world and let my heart accept and adjust to my new home.

Let every country be our home. Let every country be our world. Let the world be our world.

Please help Shagufa raise funds to pursue her education and help end child marriage in developing countries. Donate here: ShagufaGoFundMe