OZLEM, is 23-year-old young women who had to leave her country and seek a new place to leave. 2 years ago Ozlem and her husband moved from Turkey to Georgia. They are married for 3 years.

Ozlem is a theater actress, and her husband a journalist. The reason they left Turkey was the ethnic discrimination which came from the police and government. Ozlem’s husband is Kurdish and was therefore very oppressed by the police, even getting arrested during the Kurdish spring celebration, Nevroz. 

Ozlem and her husband applied to the Migration Department to receive asylum seeker status.  Soon they received permission to live in Georgia.  At first, it was very hard for them to get used to a new culture and reality. Everything was different in Georgia, a new culture and a new language. They felt very scared and it was hard for them to find their place in a new society. They went to Telavi and thought it would be easy to settle down in a small city and find job there. The idea was to buy a small premise for a shop with their savings, however, due to the pandemic they postponed it. They were stressed, could not find jobs and stayed home in the hope that something would change in their life. Soon, their savings ran out and they decided to move to Tbilisi in hope of a bigger city and more opportunities for employment. 

“Georgians are friendly and open minded, talk to you like equals, they don’t look down on you because you are a refugee.  They give you love, but still when you move to a new country, you are nobody, you have no friends. The feeling of being no one is very hard,” – says Ozlem.

Ozlem found out about UNHCR and World Vision Georgia’s joint project through the internet. After constant and long desperation, they finally started to make plans and had hope for a better future.   

During the pandemic, through “Community Mobilisation and Participation” project as other beneficiaries she received UNHCR COVID related financial assistance. 4-5 months passed and new opportunities appeared in her life. She was selected to attend a confectionary course organised by WV Georgia in partnership with Gastronomic Association of Georgia. Ozlem was very happy with this chance, as she always enjoyed baking and finally received an opportunity to develop her baking skills. As the end of the course, the Chef chose 2 people and gave them recommendations for employment. One candidate was Ozlem, so she became even more motivated to continue and develop herself in Confectionery.

After few weeks, WVG staff contacted her with the job opportunity of Chefs assistant in a famous restaurant. Ozlem really needed this job due to being the breadwinner of the family. 

“I was shocked when I saw the name of restaurant. I searched for the restaurant, it was very famous and I felt nervous as it would be a huge responsibility to start a job there. “ – says Ozlem.

First day on the job, Ozlem was very scared and shy and she couldn’t even enter the restaurant, but the friendly and supportive environment encouraged her and gave her braveness. She was very grateful that people welcomed her. 

“It was the first time I felt connected with people since I arrived in Georgia. It was huge relief for me that there was someone to whom I could share my happiness and feelings. Soon we became team players. I learned a lot there, especially discipline. I used to do everything slowly but here I learned time management, how to do things more quickly.” – says Ozlem.

Ozlem made new friends and became a team member and is now helping the Confectionary Chef in preparing deserts. At this stage she is an intern and future perspectives of employment depend on her efforts and development progress.

“Georgian women are very confident and they don’t let men speak to them disrespectfully. I met so many strong women here. They are employed in top positions. Georgia made me a stronger woman.” – says Ozlem.

In the future, her family plans to stay in Georgia as long as she can. They want to live in freedom. Ozlem wants to study Georgian Language and open a small cake shop in Tbilisi. She wants to try build her small business here.

“I feel very strong after all of these, I am happy now. I could not pursue the job I loved in my country. I have never thought it would be so hard. Refugee women should believe in themselves, respect themselves and do everything to reach their goals. In every situation no matter how bad it is, they should follow their dreams, “ – says Ozlam.