23 year-old Asiya Mohammed’s dream was to go to college and study medicine. But then, war broke out in Somalia, and she was forced to flee from her home town, Mogadishu. “I had just finished high school and was getting ready to join the university when the war broke out,” she remembers the incident which changed her life. “When I got home from school, there was a mortar attack at my house, which claimed my brother’s life instantly and left me unconscious,” she said. What was even more shocking for her was waking up and assessing the irreversible damage the attack has caused. “By the time I woke up, my neighbours have taken me to their place. I noticed that the explosion has claimed my leg and left me with some scrap metals in my body.” After she recovered from the devastating accident at her neighbour’s place, Asiya had to come to Ethiopia in search of refuge two years ago.

Fleeing the war and coming to Kebri Beyah camp in Ethiopia was never an easy task, as gunmen looted the lorry Asiya was on and shot dead the owner on board for not having enough money on him. Asiya has not seen her father and stepmother for two years after the accident as they had moved in various directions. Coming to Ethiopia, however, she was reunited with her step mother. “I found her here in this camp in 2010. I was given a shelter and food here and felt very welcomed.” Despite having gone through such a hard ordeal in life, Asiya is optimistic. She hopes to head to the United States and pursue her education and become a doctor. Her unquenched thirst for education is still with her. Through the United States Refugee Programme (USRP), of which, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) operates as overseas processing entity, the optimistic young Asiya hopes that she will see this dream realized. IOM facilitates the processing of refugees admission into the United States, including pre-screening, case preparation, overseas "cultural orientation," transportation assistance among others.