My name is Ajmal Barami. I come from Afghanistan, but I was born in Iran. Since 2015, I have been living in Germany.
When I arrived here in October of that year, I was still very young, and the first challenge I faced was learning how to connect with people. I found myself in a group home with other young men from different countries—Syria, African nations, and many others. None of us spoke the same language, and it was hard to understand each other.
At first, I tried to stay close to people from my own country, but I knew that to build a future here, I had to learn the German language. That became my first and biggest goal. I had come to Germany with a dream: to work, to build a safe life, and one day, to start a family.
Learning to read and write was the hardest part for me. When I arrived, I had very little schooling behind me and could not even read in my own language. I had started working very young, so education had slipped away from me. But I had strong willpower. I grabbed every opportunity that was given to me and was grateful for the people who supported me without asking for anything in return.
I practiced every day—speaking, writing, and reading. It was exhausting, but I didn’t want to end up like my parents, who had never learned to read or write. Along the way, I met people who treated me like family, even a woman who became like a mother to me here in Germany. I didn’t want to disappoint her, or my family back home, so I worked even harder.
I went to school five days a week and also received private lessons. Thanks to that support, I achieved my first successes in education. I graduated, then earned my intermediate school certificate. After that, I decided I wanted to work and earn money, so I looked for an apprenticeship.
Finding one was not easy. I applied many times, often without success, but through job centres, programmes, and workshops, I learned how to present myself. My first training program didn’t work out—it wasn’t the right fit for me. But I didn’t give up. I asked again for support, kept searching, and finally found Joblinge.
Today, I am training as an electronics technician in industrial engineering. I work with household appliances, and I enjoy my job very much. Every morning, I wake up motivated, looking forward to my work. Soon, I will take my final exam after almost three years of training.
This journey has not been easy. There were many times I was afraid I wouldn’t make it. But I learned that if you want something, and you truly work for it, you can achieve it. I am proud of what I have accomplished so far, and I know I gave my all.
Looking ahead, I dream of starting my own business in Germany one day. I want to give others the opportunities I had—to help people who arrive here without language skills, without connections, but with a desire to work and build a better life.
I started working at the age of ten, and I know what hard work means. Here, it is different — work is a choice, not a must. And when you enjoy what you do, you give even more of yourself.
I am grateful for the people who believed in me, and I want to give something back. My journey is not finished yet—I have big plans for my future.