I am an Egyptian Copt. With my wife, we came to Belgium in September 2008 to continue studying the French language and to take courses in theology. At the end of my second year, my dissertation was entitled: "How to live together, Christians and Muslims, in Egypt"…

My goal was to better understand and improve, in the everyday, my relationships withneighbours, friends, and colleagues. How to live normally, without fear, in mutual respect and acceptance of others.

Since 2003, I have been a member of the Inter-Cultural Association (ICA). In Egypt, we would meet at least once a month and it was a turning point in my life. In these meetings, we would converse about our relations with our Muslim brothers. It was the first time in my life that I had the opportunity to discuss and talk frankly about the issue. I then realised and felt that I had to change my vision and my fear of the other.

In July 2013, in the Saint-Jean-Berchmans Church in Brussels, I heard about theJosefa Foundation. I was impressed by the mission of the Josefa Foundation withrefugees. I was then surprised to see Gilbert, one of the founders; I already knew him; we were close to one another. At that moment, I felt called upon to get involved. I thought about it a lot and, after a few days, we met. He was very encouraging. I told him that I wished to contribute to the Foundation; he told me that, as I spoke Arabic, it could be interesting for the Josefa Foundation.

Serving refugees, the Josefa Foundation recognises that they are a source of wealth for their host country. The Josefa Foundation wants to promote a better living together,a more human life in peace. I wish to take part in it.