‘My parents both had good jobs, so we’ve always been comfortably off – particularly compared to the rest of the country. My mother worked at the school that my brothers and I attended. It was the only school in our country that offered an international baccalaureate, and we went there between the ages of 16 and 18. Most graduates from that school go abroad to study. I wanted to go, too.’ 

Yomna applied to several universities in Canada as well as the UvA. Eventually, she ended up in Amsterdam. ‘I started out studying Law before switching to Psychology and then Politics. The 2019 revolution in Sudan only raised my interest in politics further. The subsequent economic downturn made me curious about economics as well. When I first learned about the PPLE programme, I felt it was everything I always wanted to study rolled into one. Coming to Europe from Khartoum was quite a culture shock. Happily, Amsterdam offers lots of things to do, even though it’s not really that big a city. I started my programme in 2020, initially from Sudan because everything was online back then due to the coronavirus pandemic. I didn’t come to Amsterdam until a year later.’ 

‘The violence in Sudan has been both a blessing and a curse to me. A curse, because I lost out on education. We were used to online education, but frequent internet outages in our country during the coronavirus pandemic meant a delay to my studies. At the same time, all that is happening in Sudan is a great incentive to me. I’m currently focusing on politics, so that I can help rebuild my country when I eventually return. My parents have always worked hard, which gave me the chance to study abroad.’ 

‘When war broke out in April, I’d just started work on my thesis. My parents were forced to flee and had to pay a lot of money to get the whole family seats on a bus to Egypt. On top of that, the country’s payment system collapsed, so my parents couldn’t be paid their salaries. While that was going on, I had to pay my tuition fees and my rent out of my own pocket, so the fact that international students can’t work more than 16 hours didn’t help. Besides, my main concerns were my family, the risk of someone breaking into our house and everybody else’s safety. Thanks to the support I received from the Study without Borders Fund, I could shift my focus to my examinations and my thesis. Mostly, I was surprised that the support came so quickly. I wish the same kind of support on everyone from a war-torn area, whether they come from Ukraine, Sudan or elsewhere. For the time being, I’d like to remain in Amsterdam. I can’t go back right now, but would like to in the future. Sudan remains my home.’ 

About the Study without Borders Fund 

The Study without Borders Fund, established in 2016 by two committed donors to the Amsterdam University Fund, offers academics and students who have fled or are unable to return to their country of origin the opportunity to start or complete their research or studies at the UvA.