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The path that would lead Nowras Rahhal to Kassel, to Potsdam, to Vienna and to European research laboratories began in a hospital in Damascus. "I was born in the capital of Syria in 1993," he says. "My father is stateless, as my grandfather fled Palest­tina to Syria in 1948." Palestine no longer existed at that time due to the Middle East conflict. Rahhal's grandfather was recognized as a Palestinian refugee in Syria, but was thus stateless. "My mother is Syrian, but Syrian law does not allow a mother to pass on her citizenship­to her children." So for Rah­hal, the challenges begin at birth.

But Rahhal's family places a high value on education. With the support of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Rahhal and his three siblings go to a school for stateless­children. Good grades enable him to study. "I actually wanted to do something with IT, but my mother always dreamed of one of her children becoming a pharmacist. So I studied pharmaceutical chemistry at Damascus University," he says with a smile.

Studies and civil war

In 2011, Rahhal's bachelor's studies and the civil war in Syria begin. He writes exams while rake­ten explode in the distance. And he wonders what's the point of studying at all while some of his friends are dying. But Rahhal, who is also passionate about art, comes up with a thought­ke. "I made this photo collage." He shows a picture: In the background, a completely destroyed Syrian square; in the middle, in the foreground, a lecture hall with a professor and a blackboard written all over it­. "I think the only possible way to end this war is to educate the people and especially the ac­tual generation," Rahhal expresses his conviction.

By telling his story, he hopes to draw attention to the problems of stateless people.­He wants to show­that education gives them the chance to contribute to society, that they can achieve more.

Education as a passport

He said he had always dreamed of traveling, but without a passport, he was unable to do so. "Then education became a kind of passport for me," Rahhal reports. After completing his Ba­chelor, he decides to pursue a master's degree in nanos­cience at the University of Kassel. This gives him a visa as an international student. In October 2018, he can start the Win­tersemester. However, the immigration office in Germany got his nationality mixed up, he reports. "First they gave me stateless, then Syrian, which I am not, and finally I got the status unge­klärt. They told me if I wanted to go back to stateless status, I had to go to court, but I didn't have time for that." Rahhal focuses on his studies, his work­and a volunteer commitment: for six months he tells stories to refugee children and German schoolchildren as part of a bilingual project run by Pia­no e. V. in Kassel: German fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm and Arabic stories, the Kalila wa Dimna.

Rahhal continues to pursue his path in academia with determination­big. At the University of Kassel, he is gaining experience in science as an academic­assistant in the Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences­. From January 2020, he will work­as an intern at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (MPIKG) in Potsdam in the group of Dr. Christoph Rademacher. Together with his team, Rademacher is researching the development of vaccines using a special technique: they are supposed to work through the skin.

With a patch against Corona

Shortly after Rahhal's start at MPIGK, the research­group began developing the new technique specifically for a vaccine against corona. The secret of the vaccine lies in the immune cells of the skin, the Langerhans cells. Their density is higher in skin than in muscle. Therefore, vaccination through the skin is potentially more effective. Langerhans cells present antigens to the body and serve as the immune system's first shield against viruses or bacteria.

Rahhal is collaborating on the development of a special plat­form to target these Langerhans cells. A key role is played by a chemical component that enables docking exclusively to Langerhans cells, where it allows efficient release of the vaccine. The agent can be easily introduced into the skin via a patch­- without a needle. "Through this technique, we hope to require significantly less vaccine for an individual. This is a great advantage when a particularly large number of people need to be vaccinated," Rahhal explains. At the MPIKG in Pots­dam, two vaccine candidates have been developed that work with this technique. Both have already been listed with the WHO and are undergoing further studies. Scientists expect to have a finished vaccine by the end of 2021 er­.

Meanwhile, since spring 2020, the coronavirus has been spreading into a pandemic. People in Germany are facing a new challenge. During this time, Rahhal is researching the virus more than twelve hours a day, is in the lab a lot, and is again experiencing a time of fear. "I never thought that the experiences from the war would pay off for me one day," says Rahhal. He feels mentally stronger than others to get through the time of the pandemic, which takes so much out of people. He thinks of his parents and sister, who still live in Damascus. "There is a lack of everything there, even essential­things like bread or oil for heating or gasoline for the car. The virus is uncontrollable there, with few tests available. It's tough," he describes. During his internship at the MPIKG, he was offered the opportunity to write his master's thesis there as well. Rahhal will present his topic, "Reprogramming the Immune System: A Microfluidic Approach to Formulate mRNA Lipid Nanopar­ticles for Targeted Delivery to Langerhans Cells," to Prof. Dr. Markus Maniak, professor of cell biology at the University of Kassel. He will graduate in Novem­ber 2020 with a grade of 1.3. Dr. Ra­demacher asked him if he would like to do his Ph.D. with the research group. But to do so, he says, he would have to move to Vienna, where Rademacher is taking up a professorship in molecular drug targeting at the university. Rahhal agrees. What does that mean for him?

An end to statelessness?

In Germany, Rahhal earned a university degree and lived for two years. After six years and subject to a few more conditions, Rahhal could have obtained German citizenship.­However, "I prioritized bil­dation and an academic career over citizenship, even though it was a big challenge for me," he admits. In Vienna, he notes that he now lives two extremes: in 2019, a study by the "Econo­mist" declared Vienna the most livable city in the world. Damascus was in last place.

The issue of statelessness remains important to him. The UN Refugee Agency has a lofty goal: by 2024, it wants to end the phenomenon of statelessness among people. Through its #IBelong campaign, UNHCR is raising awareness. Rahhal says, "2024 is already soon. Governments must act to end the suffering of millions of people so that we can achieve the goal of this campaign. And I hope my story will continue to raise awareness and show that stateless people can be an important­part of society through education."

TEXT Christine Grass