Scholar Against All Odds

A feature by Kristina Bye for Khrono on Abdulghani Muthanna, a SAR Scholar at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Muthanna describes Yemen, his family’s new life in Norway, and his search for a permanent position.

“It is one of those days where the cold rips your nose, cuts through your woolen underwear and drills into your bones. But when Abdulghani Muthanna opens the door to the apartment where he and his family live there is not a trace of cold or discomfort – even though it becomes clear that the Norwegian climate is not the Muthanna family’s favorite.

In the living room, now serving as an home office, sit Ali (12), Fatima (11) and Ameer (6). In the kitchen, wife Samar is in full swing preparing tea and fruit for the visitors. Dressed as Spiderman, Ameer, runs around the living room and Ali, the oldest, eagerly shows the apartment to the visiting journalist and photographer. Fatima offers a shy smile, seated next to her dad. On the surface, they look like any other family.

But as Abdulghani tells his story, we learn that this normal, every day life hasn’t always been the norm.”

Read the full story.