Deeb, Toure chosen refugees of the year 2019

The Finnish Refugee Council on Wednesday chosen Rand Mohamad Deeb as Refugee Woman of the Year and Nourdeen Toure as Refugee Man of the Year 2019, said a press release.

Deeb, an 18 years woman hailed from Syria while Toure, a 28 years man hailed from Togo.

In 2014, the family of Rand Mohamad Deeb escaped Syria ravaged by civil war. Three years later, the Deeb family arrived in Finland as quota refugees.

Graduating this spring, Deeb is now preparing for the admission examinations in Medicine at University of Helsinki.

“When I arrived in Finland, many immigrants said Finnish was a terribly difficult language to learn. I was told that graduating high school is not a realistic goal for an immigrant in Finland,” Deeb said.

The Refugee Man of the Year, Nourdeen arrived in Finland alone at the age of 20, travelled for two years through several countries from his home country, Togo.

“At first, my only family in Finland was the police and the Finnish Immigration Service,” Toure said.

Shortly after his arrival in Finland, Toure started boxing and today he is pursuing the goal of becoming a Finnish boxing champion.

Although Toure did not have a boxing background before coming to Finland, he first boxed at a professional level in 2014. Toure is coached by Pekka Mäki, who coaches other top boxers in Finland.

The award for the Refugee Woman of the Year has been given every year since 1998 and the Refugee Man of the Year since 2016.