JOURNALIST and social activist Razan Ibraheem was so determined to study in Limerick that she worked for ten years to save enough money to pay for her university fees
Razan came to Ireland in 2011, five months after the war started in Syria, and applied to study at the University of Limerick for a Masters degree in teaching English.
Appearing on RTÉ television’s Tommy Tiernan Show last weekend, she said she was ”fascinated by Ireland as a country” and wanted to study in Ireland because of her love of Irish literature and university rankings.
Because ”UL came at the top of the lists”, she was determined to study in Limerick.
“I was an overseas student, so my fees were extremely high compared to Irish fees. My dream was to continue my studies, my ultimate dream. I looked at my pockets and I had one euro. And I was looking at the fees, they were €10,000.
“I had nothing to do just to work. I worked for ten years, saving every year around €800 to €1000. After ten years, I was able to get my full fees. I paid everything and then I arrived to Limerick”.
Razan studied at the University of Limerick from 2011 to 2012 where she was awarded her degree in English, Irish, and American Literature.
She is now working as a Senior Editorial Analyst at Kinzen, an organisation that protects online communities and the public from disinformation campaigns and dangerous content.
She is also an social activist and has spoken out on the Syrian conflict and addressed a UN conference in Geneva about the Refugee Crisis in 2016. She was also named International woman of the year by Irish Tatler magazine in 2016.
Watch her interview with Tommy Tiernan below.
