Rim Edelbi's family fled the Syrian civil war to Germany. As she was already over 18 years old, she was denied further travel in Turkey. While others would despair, she started learning German. Finally in Munich, she quickly began studying pharmacy at the LMU, which has now even become a double major. She also looks after her child. What could stop this woman? Thanks in part to the Germany scholarship: nothing.
When the civil war broke out in Syria, Rim Edelbi was just 14 years old. The school was far away from her home in Hama and she had to commute long distances every day. Her parents were very worried about their daughter, but she wanted to continue to go to school despite the dangers. "After all, we were the future of the country," explains the now 26-year-old. They held out in Syria until they graduated from high school, then her family decided to leave the country. "We had no life anymore, nothing to do or dream about."
When they fled the war-torn country, the family was separated. Her mother and little brother made it to Germany, while Rim and the rest of her siblings were stuck in Turkey. She had to wait there for about a year before she was allowed to join them as part of the family reunification process. Always with the uncertainty of whether she would ever see her family again. Since she was just over 18 years old, the entry requirements were more stringent. But despite many tears, she never gave up hope, even learned German and was already at A2 language level when she left.
Rim still remembers her first day in Germany: "It was like a dream for me." She kept asking her mother if she could wake her up, she says and laughs. Not only because she could hold her mother in her arms again after a year. But also because she knew that she could continue her studies and start studying in Germany. “The country gave me hope.” She wanted to study chemistry, which was what she enjoyed most at school in Syria.
The path to LMU was not easy. “When I told the lady in the foreigners’ office about it, she laughed at first,” Rim remembers. “But I told her that it was my dream and what I had already achieved in life.” That worked. She then immediately helped her to contact the LMU International Office and register for the language courses. The people there were also very friendly. Despite the new life and the new culture, Rim quickly reached the necessary language level. “I knew that language was the key.”
Through special LMU programs, two students helped Rim with onboarding. In general, she is very grateful for all the help she has received since her time in Munich. Now and then she has had bad experiences on public transport because of her appearance or religion. But for the Syrian-born woman, Germany has become a second home. She has now even mastered the integration test and has been officially naturalized. 310 questions that even native Germans don't always know the answer to.
Rim started studying pharmaceutical sciences at LMU, a mixture of chemistry and pharmacy. Her goal was pharmacy, but places there are few. "My plan was to switch to pharmacy later," she says. A course of study that is very popular in Syria, especially among women. But the two courses were very similar and she enjoyed the laboratory work. She decided to stick with it for the time being. After she enjoyed learning and was very successful, she quickly started a double degree.
Two subjects take a lot of energy. It is all the more astonishing that Rim is also a mother and, in addition to the double major and the long laboratory work, she looks after her son. When he is sleeping, she usually sits at her desk late into the night. "I often thought I couldn't go on," she admits. Especially when he was a baby. When all the exams were also held online because of Corona, she wanted to give up. "I still have the drafted emails from back then in my inbox," she says - to motivate her never to give up. Because she never sent them.
The Deutschlandstipendium helped her financially during that time. "I had to complete a laboratory internship in every subject in Pharmaceutical Sciences," she explains. Finding a part-time job that would have been compatible with her studies in the morning, work in the laboratory in the afternoon and with her son in the evening was not an option. Apart from that, people also need a break sometimes. "The Deutschlandstipendium gives me the opportunity to keep my life balanced between my child and my studies," the 26-year-old emphasizes.
LMU Diversity Management
Diversity Management Coordinator, Germany Scholarship Program Coordinator