This story first appeared in JRS INSIDER, a monthly newsletter including stories of impact across JRS global.

Majdi was finishing his workday in Galati, Romania, when we connected for a call. Later, he would go home, cook dinner with his wife, and study for the medical residency entrance exam he’ll be taking in November.

He had spent the morning at a local hospital with a Sudanese family whose child has Down Syndrome. They were struggling to navigate the Romanian medical system and the paperwork required to access social services. Majdi assisted by translating conversations with doctors into Arabic and helping complete forms.

He does this work every day for refugee families because he was once in their shoes and knows what it feels like to arrive in a foreign country where you don’t know a soul.

Majdi left home – Jenin, Palestine – at 17 to go to medical school in Romania. His childhood was shaped by a large, close-knit family, but also by persistent political tension and violence. When he was eight years old, he was shot in the foot while leaving school – just one of many injuries his family has endured.

When the opportunity arose to study in Romania, he took it, but the transition was difficult. He remembers his first night there clearly:

“My flight out of Amman was at 6 a.m., and I arrived in Bucharest at 10 p.m.” Then he had to get a taxi to a train station to continue on to the university. The train did not leave until 4 a.m. “I had been awake for so long. I slept in the train station. It was really horrible.”

The next day, he moved into his dormitory and started classes, relying on basic Romanian and translation tools to keep up. A classmate from Iraq told him about Jesuit Refugee Service and its Romanian language classes and other supports for those new in the country.

Majdi reached out immediately. He enrolled in classes, then volunteered with JRS for several years, assisting with their language learning program. Today, he is on staff as a cultural mediator, supporting others as they navigate the same systems he once had to learn. 

His work ranges from helping families access medical care and understand legal documents to guiding them through everyday aspects of life in a new country. He also introduces families to Romanian traditions, helping them feel more connected.

Majdi’s own family remains separated. His mother and two of his four brothers arrived in Romania a year ago. His father, two other brothers, and two sisters are still in Palestine. The family hopes to reunite in Romania.

“The situation for my family in Palestine is really bad,” Majdi said, noting his brother has been shot twice in the chest and torso. The bullets remain lodged inside him because removing them would be too dangerous.

As his family remains apart and he prepares for the next step in his medical career, Majdi still finds time to be a support for new arrivals. Each day, he returns to the systems he once struggled to navigate, so others do not have to do it alone. “I feel best when I can share my experience with others.”