My journey began in 2018 when I arrived in Serbia, leaving behind everything I knew – my home, my family, my country.

In Iran, my sexual orientation cast a shadow over my life, making it unbearable to stay. The fear and danger were constant, and I knew I had to escape.

When I first arrived in Serbia, I was placed in an overcrowded camp in Tutin, struggling with the fear of being who I am. But even in that darkness, there were small flickers of hope. I found organizations that gave me legal assistance, and helped me take my first steps in this new country. With time, I found my way out of the shadows, into a life where I could finally breathe.

Life in Serbia is not without its challenges, but it is a far brighter place for me than Iran ever was. Here, I have found something I thought I’d lost forever – a sense of belonging.

I now live in a private apartment with my boyfriend, who is Serbian. His family has embraced me, and for the first time in a long time, I feel like I have a family again. This love, this acceptance – it has brought color back into my world.

Society still casts its own shadows. Sometimes, I am asked uncomfortable questions, like, “Do you have a girlfriend? When will you get married?” But I know these questions come from a place of misunderstanding, not malice.

And while there are still barriers to acceptance, I believe that every day brings a little more light into my life.

There are some incredible organizations that have played a vital role in helping me and others like me. They help us navigate these societal borders, offering legal aid, translation services, and guidance.

Crisis Response and Policy Centre (CRPC) was also of great importance, providing me with language courses, which is especially important in overcoming language barriers and other obstacles due to a lack of systems and support. Whenever I need translation help or anything else, I know I can count on them, and that means the world to me.

Perhaps the hardest border I had to cross was the emotional one. Leaving behind my family, my home – it left scars that I still carry. I think about my mother and sister every day, wondering if they’re okay, if they miss me as much as I miss them. But love has a way of healing even the deepest wounds.

In Serbia, I feel freer than I ever did in Iran. I see the Pride Info Center in Belgrade in the heart of the city, and it reminds me that this place is different – there is light here.

For me, love is everything. It’s the one thing that breaks down all borders – physical, societal, emotional. Love is what kept me going when I felt like giving up, and it’s what continues to guide me as I rebuild my life here.

Now, my dream is simple: to live my life in peace, to keep moving forward, and maybe one day, to bring my family here, so they can see how far I’ve come.

My life has been a journey of survival, hope, and the quest for a place where I can truly be myself. I left my home country to escape persecution, seeking a life where my identity as an LGBTIQ+ person wouldn’t put me in danger.

Where I come from, concepts like democracy and human rights are not just distant ideas – they’re completely foreign. Being who I am meant being misdiagnosed with schizophrenia and subjected to inhumane treatment in a psychiatric hospital. The hospital’s judicial unit ruled that the side effects of the forced injections deprived me of full legal capacity for civil conduct in a matter of days while I was unconscious. My life was not my own.

From the moment I departed for Thailand, I was afraid – terrified that I would be labeled a missing person and tracked down by the authorities in my home country. I had to be cautious at every step, hiding my destination, not knowing what awaited me on the other side. Before I got a piece of certainty about the prospect of boarding a flight successfully to the destination – Serbia – hunger and thirst were inferior in my thoughts.

Arriving to Serbia brought with it a feeling of hope of safety. Though the journey here was long and fraught with difficulty, I knew that this could be a place where I could start again.

Starting over in a new country brought its own set of challenges. Language barriers, cultural differences, and the societal obstacles were overwhelming at times. But the support I found here gave me the strength to keep going.

I was connected with the Crisis Response and Policy Center (CRPC) before I even arrived. When I reached out to them, I didn’t know what kind of protection I would receive, but they responded to my cry for help and made sure I was safe. The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights also played a pivotal role in helping me through the asylum process.

Serbia is far from perfect, but it has been a sanctuary compared to my home country. Here, I’ve felt a sense of belonging, something I never had before.

People are more open and direct, making it easier to form friendships, to connect with others. With the support of organizations like the Crisis Response and Policy Center (CRPC) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), I’ve started to believe that maybe this can be my new home.

Though the physical and societal borders were difficult to cross, the emotional journey has been the most challenging. Starting a new life alone has been hard, but I haven’t lost hope.

My beliefs about love remain the same; my sexual orientation hasn’t changed, and I haven’t changed. I still believe in the power of connection, of finding people who accept you for who you are.

As I look ahead, my dreams are simple. I want to integrate into Serbian society, learn the language, and maybe even work as a translator. Most of all, I want to continue building my life here, to keep feeling like I belong.

I still face challenges, but I’ve crossed the hardest borders – the borders of fear, of doubt, and of being silenced. Now, I stand on the other side, hopeful, with a future that’s mine to create.

I still remember the day I decided to leave my home in Northern India. It wasn’t just about crossing a border; it was about breaking free from a place that never accepted me for who I was.

Life as a trans woman in India was unbearable – trapped in a world where women had no rights, and people like me were seen as outcasts. I couldn’t stay in a place where my very existence was denied.

At 19, I joined the trans community in India, a group isolated from society, bound by its own rules and rituals. We were forced into prostitution and made to perform at traditional ceremonies. The leader, or “guru,” was highly controlling. I wasn’t allowed to leave or make decisions on my own. I had become a victim of human trafficking, trapped and powerless, forced to do whatever they demanded.

When I finally escaped and arrived in Serbia in April 2022, I faced tremendous challenges. After struggling to obtain asylum in Serbia, I decided to head towards Greece. I crossed the border with a group of migrants, but on the way to Greece, we were attacked by a terrorist group. They took my money, phone, and all the valuables I had on me, and then they threw me off a mountain. I was injured and spent five days in the forest before I found help.

Somehow, I survived and returned to Serbia determined to rebuild my life, but I had difficulties getting medical assistance and the necessary documentation.

Serbia isn’t yet a safe haven for people like me. Every day, I face stares, whispers, and rejection because of my appearance. On public transportation, people refuse to sit near me and finding work is a constant struggle.

I am grateful to the organizations like Atina and International Aid Network (IAN), which helped me find a job and provided me with the legal, medical, and emotional support I desperately needed. With their help I manage to find strength and motivation to move forward, although the weight of societal discrimination is still heavy.

But it wasn’t easy finding help. Organizations should focus more on the specific needs of LGBTIQ+ refugees and provide adequate support, including legal assistance and access to healthcare. It is also crucial for organizations to collaborate and strengthen their connections to offer comprehensive support.

Despite everything, I’ve found a small community of people who see me as more than just a label – they see me as human.

A journey to finding peace within myself has been long and painful. I lost my family, my community, and my sense of belonging. For years, I was trapped in a cycle of fear and rejection.

But through it all, I’ve learned something powerful: love can heal. The love I’ve found in supportive communities, the care I’ve received from organizations, and the hope that one day I will live freely have all given me the strength to keep going.

My dream is to move to a place where I can be accepted, where LGBTIQ+ rights are protected by law. I know that place exists, and I am determined to find it.

With resilience, love, and support of others, I know I will find my place in the world. And to anyone like me, struggling to find their way, I say this: don’t give up.

Despite the hardships, I have learned to endure and to hold on to hope. I strive for a future where I can live freely and without fear. My deepest desire is to find peace – peace within my soul. That is my purpose.

In my native language my name means “good” or “happy”, but the path to living up to that name hasn’t always been easy.

In January 2020, I fled Bangladesh, leaving behind the only home I had ever known, driven out by hatred. An extremist group targeted me for who I am – an atheist and a member of the LGBTIQ+ community. The pressure to conform, to marry, to hide, and the violence I endured, left me no choice but to abandon my studies, my career, and the future I had once envisioned.

My journey wasn’t just about crossing national borders; it was about crossing personal ones, about getting out of my own shadow. I left Bangladesh not only to escape persecution but to find a place where I could live authentically.

I arrived in Serbia with nothing but the hope for peace. The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights provided me with essential legal support and helped me integrate by assisting in finding a job and navigating the challenges of starting a new life. Psychosocial Innovation Network (PIN) offered me crucial psychological support, helping me heal emotionally and regain strength in a society so different from my own. These organizations became my lifeline.

I had left behind a culture I couldn’t belong to, only to find myself in a foreign world with unfamiliar language, traditions, and people. The cultural distance was immense, and I felt the weight of these new societal borders bearing down on me.

But I was determined to overcome them. I met people who welcomed me, like a woman I met in Belgrade, who became my first friend here. Thanks to her, I learned my first Serbian words.

Over time, I formed deep, genuine connections with colleagues who have become like family to me. It was through these connections that I learned what belonging really feels like.

Serbia, with its unfamiliarity, became a place where I could start fresh, where I could be myself, and slowly, I began to belong.

For a long time, I had shut myself off from love, focusing instead on survival. But love has its own way of finding you.

My journey in Serbia became one of healing and rediscovering love – not only for others but for myself. I learned that without self-love, it’s impossible to truly give love to anyone else.

I’m still figuring out what love means to me, but I’ve come to understand that love cannot be forced or organized; it happens like magic. I felt that magic once, back in 2011, and though I’ve lost contact with much of my family, I still hold onto love for them, especially for my mother and niece, who remain close to my heart.

In Serbia, love has taken new forms. It has shown itself in the friendships I’ve built, in the moments of connection and understanding. It has emerged from the deep bonds I’ve formed with people who have helped me through the hardest of times.

Love, I’ve come to realize, is what has carried me through all these borders – helping me find a home, not just in a new country, but within myself. Helping me get out of the shadow and find a whole new magical palette of colors.