The young Syrian Amjad Almatni has been committed to lonely young people in the city for some time. As a refugee, he knows all too well what it’s like to be lonely. Last week he won a prize for his efforts: the Young Amsterdam Award for social involvement.
In September of 2018, Amjad fled to the Netherlands with his father. Via Azc’s in Ter Apel, Zutphen and Arnhem he eventually ended up in Amsterdam. He soon noticed that it was very lonely to end up in a foreign country as a young boy: “When I was lonely myself I wanted to do something and get to know people so much, but there was just nobody there.” He therefore decided to do volunteer work at various organizations. For example, he helped with the Rainbow Group and he committed himself to Extinction Rebellion.
“I always try to talk to everyone so they don’t feel lonely”
Soon Amjad got to know more and more people in the city and he became less lonely. Because he was lonely himself, Amjad knows what it’s like and how you can pull young people out of loneliness. Amjad: “I’ve learned that lonely people need someone to talk to. That’s why I always try to talk to everyone so they don’t feel lonely.”
Amjad soon decided to set up the platform Destereotyped. With the platform, he brings lonely young people together and starts a conversation with them based on his own experiences: “We can talk about events together and you are not alone and I will guide you through them. That way the young people go with more people talk and they start working on their own personality more.”
Due to his commitment to various organizations and his help to young people, Amjad received the Young Amsterdam Award for social involvement last week. The prize is awarded annually to various young people who have meant something to other young people in the city.
Amjad is proud to have won the social engagement category: “I really had to hear it a few times because I could hardly believe it.” He does indicate that this is only the beginning and that he still has a lot of ambition for the future. “I want to make the platform bigger and help more young people make their voices heard. I also study nursing and that is something I really enjoy. I want to become a nurse and then help people in other countries where there is little care. That is my dream.”
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