Simko Amen, the first Kurd to obtain refugee status in Japan, is now working for a Japanese nongovernmental organization in Pakistan to support Afghan refugees.
"My experience as a refugee has enhanced my capacity as an aid worker," said the 32-year-old architect, who has been in Peshawar, a city near the Afghan border, since early October working for Peace Winds Japan.
"I hope the border will open soon, enabling me to support resettlement of Afghan refugees as an engineer."
Simko kicked off his career as an aid worker in 1994, when a Japanese NGO launched a support program in Kurdish villages that had been destroyed by Iraqi troops.