- A 25-year-old Egyptian-Italian man who arrived in Italy on a small boat 11 years ago has now got his second university degree.
"If I made it starting from scratch, anyone can make it.
It's only moral limits that very often block us", said Remon Karam after receiving his certificate on Monday, his second three-year degree at the Kore University of Enna in Sicily.
A cultural mediator, guarantor of the students of Karam University after graduating in Modern Languages ;;and Cultures, Remon has now graduated in Intercultural Studies and International Relations with a thesis on "Immigration: between persecution and reality." Karam had to leave his land after his cousin was killed in front of the church where he prayed, his mother was hit with stones thrown to scare her, his teachers beat him because he couldn't learn the Koran by heart.
He wanted to study, to choose his faith, he is a Coptic Christian, to make his dreams come true, and so he decided to join a group of migrants.
After months at a reception center, a Sicilian family adopted him.
"Why this thesis?," he said.
"Because I want to broaden my knowledge in the field of human rights and immigration, I want to work in that and have the appropriate training to be able to do so.
"My current plans now are looking for work.
"I would like to work in the context of international relations.
And so, reluctantly I have to leave Enna, where I attended university".