Life in Ireland is “really good. It is the ideal peaceful place after what I have seen and what I have covered.”

Ahmed (*not his real name) is a sterling example of the incredible talent that newcomers to Ireland possess and that RecruitRefugees .ie is trying to promote.

An experienced journalist from Cairo whose photojournalism and documentary work has won awards, he has worked in 13 countries and for well-known media outlets such as Euronews and Associated Press. He has also covered protests in Egypt against the government. He tells me that his home country ranks 3rd in the world for the number of imprisoned journalists and 153rd in world rankings for press freedom.

Much of the appeal of Ireland is that he is now living in a country that ranks 8th or 9th in the world in terms of press freedom. As a former asylum seeker who now has leave to remain and work, life in Ireland is “really good. It is the ideal peaceful place that I need to live in for now, after what I have seen and what I have covered.”

The big difference for him being able to work and contribute is that he is “no longer afraid”.

“When I was in my country, you might be arrested, you might be deported because of your work. Here I am not afraid to write about whichever topic I want,” he said.

First specialist recruitment company for refugees and asylum-seekers