Students bounce back with mathematics after fleeing their country

The first time Rafiei got off the metro at the EPFL stop, he thought he’d made a mistake. “I mistook the structure for a factory, since the buildings all had a metallic feel,” he says with a smile. “Only the SwissTech building corresponded to the image I had of a university.” Rafiei is 25. years old and fled Afghanistan in 2021, shortly after the Taliban took over. He is now one of 16 students in the three-semester-long CMS-3 program.

The program is funded by the McCall MacBain Foundation. It is open to people who have either filed for or been granted asylum in Switzerland. Along with Rafiei, Aron is another of the program’s first cohort of students. She fled Eritrea in 2015. She heard about CMS-3 after failing the EPFL admissions exam and decided to give it a try so that she could finally complete her university studies. She was in her second-to-last year as an applied biology major at the Eritrea Institute of Technology when she had to flee Asmara. “Military service is mandatory in Eritrea,” she says. “High-school students take classes during the week and undergo military training during the weekend. And the last year of high school is devoted entirely to military training. Then when you graduate, regardless of whether you go to college or start working, you remain part of the national service. For me as a woman, it would’ve been next to impossible to choose my career.”

When I don’t understand a math problem, it’s as if I’m reading without my glasses on – it all looks blurry. But when I finally get the solution, I’m really proud. It’s like everything comes together to create a delicious meal.

A new start on an inflatable boat

Rafiei and Aron didn’t dare set their hopes too high when they applied to the CMS-3 program. So they were delighted when they learned they had been accepted, especially since they had been through such an arduous journey to get to Switzerland. “It was like we were gambling with our own lives,” says Rafiei, who already speaks French quite well. When he left his home country, he had just finished all 12 years of compulsory schooling and had been selected under a national program to study civil engineering at Herat University. He also gave English lessons to children. But the arrival of the Taliban changed all that. His parents sold their family home to give him a future. Only he was able to leave; his sister and three brothers stayed in Herat.

Rafiei first went to Iran, where he worked at a fast-food restaurant for two years to earn money for the trip to Europe. Then he traveled to Turkey, where “people are much harder on migrants.” From there, he boarded an inflatable boat with around 60 other people and spent four days and five nights at sea before reaching Italy. “We collided with a large boat near Greece but kept going, not sure whether the raft would sink,” he says. “It was really tough. We basically ran out of food and water after the first day and a half.” After Italy, Rafiei headed to Switzerland, where he stayed in around a dozen placement centers in as many different cantons. “In September I moved into a shared apartment in Blonay. I like it much better – I didn’t sleep well in the centers and it was hard to study. The level of the CMS-3 classes is pretty advanced for me, so I have to study a lot. When I don’t understand a math problem, it’s as if I’m reading without my glasses on – it all looks blurry. But when I finally get the solution, I’m really proud. It’s like everything comes together to create a delicious meal!” says Rafiei, who also enjoys cooking.

My father was constantly motivating me when I was little, such as by giving me a little present if I came in the top ten in my class. I left Eritrea when I was 18 years old and hadn’t yet graduated from university – I didn’t even tell my family about my plans. I know my father was disappointed. Today I really want to do well to make him proud.

Never give up hope

Mathematics is one of Aron’s favorite subjects too, along with chemistry and biology. And, like Rafiei, she had to flee her country, taking with her nothing more than a small bag plain enough to not draw any attention. She walked for several days from Eritrea to Sudan with four of her friends. Then they parted ways and she continued the journey alone to Libya. Her stay in that country was difficult and unpleasant. In Libya, she boarded a packed raft and headed out to sea, fearing for her life until an Italian boat saved everyone on board. It wasn’t easy for her to recover from that traumatic experience. “It was only when I came to the French part of Switzerland in 2018 that I could start taking the classes given by EVAM, the Vaud migrant center,” she says. “Before that, my days were very long because there was nothing I could do. But you should never give up hope and always try new things to see if they’ll work out.” Today, Aron lives in an apartment in Villeneuve and works occasionally at a small grocery store.

What’s her next goal? “I’d like to get a job in biomedicine or bioengineering. My father was constantly motivating me when I was little, such as by giving me a little present if I came in the top ten in my class. I left Eritrea when I was 18 years old and hadn’t yet graduated from university – I didn’t even tell my family about my plans. I know my father was disappointed. Today I really want to do well to make him proud.”

Rafiei and Aron merged into the regular CMS program this fall. They both readily admit that computer science is difficult, as they’d never studied it before. And they say it’s not easy to meet people and make friends. “I was really surprised to see that people here don’t talk to each other, such as on public transport,” says Rafiei. “The ambiance is quite cold – there’s no interaction.” And what are his career goals? “Getting through the CMS program is already a big challenge, so we’ll see. But I’d like to have a good job with a nice salary, and to help other people. I especially want my parents to be happy and proud, because they’ve suffered and sacrificed a lot for me.”