How does a migrant impact society? How do you see yourself as a migrant in Austria? This whole idea as a migrant… I don’t see myself as migrant in that sense. I do have this strong sense of migrant identity if you wish, whatever that means. For example I find the question “where are you…
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Who were you before you moved to Austria? My name is Khurram Iftikhar and I was born in Pakistan. I spent my childhood in a small village coexisting with nature and cultural norms. As I was always inspired by creativity I chose electronics engineering as my career and successfully graduated in 2009.During my studies,i got…
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Who am I? Society today, worldwide, points to many definitions of who we are: migrants 1st generation, 2nd generation, people with a migrant background, refugees, foreigners, expats- we are all reduced to definitions, demographics and statistics. I am often asked the question by journalists “When do you feel like a migrant?” and the answer is…
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My family has been quite nomadic for generations. I am mostly Pontic Greek (a trip of Greeks that used to live in Turkey before they were driven out 100 years ago) on my fathers side. My mothers side contributed some German and Prussian elements, but I understand that in the 70’ies they already had a…
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“I was a young girl with a big dream: to see the world beyond its Romanian borders. Ever since I was 2-3 years old and first heard about America, Germany and England (yes, we used to call it England, not the UK), I wanted to be there, and not where I was at the time:…
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I was born in a small eastern Bosnian town named Zvornik into a big family with lots of children, countless uncles and aunts who were all held together by the good soul of my grandmother. Memories of happiness, closeness and innocence mark that magical period in my life. In my hometown I attended primary school…
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“Please bring your passport tomorrow to get your visa” Someone from the other side of the telephone was telling me something which I had been waiting to hear for quite some time. On 1st October, 2011 it was a call from the Austrian Embassy in Islamabad and they had finally decided to give me visa…
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“Everyday is my favorite moment. When I am in Turkey though, I miss Vienna a lot. I miss Kärtnerstrasse! And not for the shopping, but for the flair and atmosphere. I love Vienna! My father came here as a guest worker. Later my mom, my grandparents followed. Until they could find a flat, they had…
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“My best moment in Austria was in June, this year, at TEDxDonauinsel. I was attending the event as a speaker, talking about what makes my heart beat. At the end of my talk I asked the audience to write down on a piece of paper: what makes their heart beat. Out of those words, ranging…
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“I’ve never been to Vienna before. I applied for my studies, I got a dormitory room and we flew from Turkey, me and my mom. The first time in Vienna I was thinking oh my God, this is so amazing; I will be spending 3 years here. But I gave the wrong address to the…
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