Prince Soniyiki - From Nigerian to “Croatian” in Three Years

Prince Wale Soniyiki, 29, is the poster boy for Croatia’s refugee system. When Prince (that’s his real name, not a royal title) arrived here from Nigeria three years ago, he felt like a “complete nobody.” Today he has a good job, speaks the language fluently and is a well-known advocate for asylum-seekers, whose voices are rarely heard in Croatian society. Prince fled Nigeria in December 2011 after a bloody terrorist attack killed his brothers. A circuitous route through Libya and Italy eventually led him to Croatia.
Croatia, which joined the European Union in 2013, has a well-functioning asylum system. But it’s rarely tested because nearly all asylum-seekers and refugees move on to other European countries, partly because integration into society is not easy. Prince, though, is making a life here. Two years ago he founded “Africans Living in Croatia" to help others like him integrate and to help Croatians better understand migrants. His passionate work grabbed the attention of the owner of a tuna farming company, who offered him a job on his boat on the Adriatic coast.  -   UNHCR