Mahdieh Samsami (Mahi for short) is a 24-year-old Iranian migrant seeking refuge or a work permit for residency within Serbia. We first met at the MILAGRO Summer Camp, hosted in July 2025 in Belgrade. Her kind-hearted and extroverted personality made it easy to become friends nearly immediately. Through a brief 10-minute interview on her favourite colours (green, pink, white, and blue), she was able to encompass what it means to be a migrant, what “home” means to her, and her appreciation for human compassion.
Green and blue, for instance, reflect the forest, jungle trees, the sea, and the sky, as well as the essence of what it means to be human – colours whose softness mirrors the human soul and heart.
Pink and white hold equally profound significance, connected to fundamental human longings essential to her idea of home. Pink is the colour of cherry blossoms; for Mahi, a kiss beneath these trees can make love eternal. White, on the other hand, is the symbol of peace, reminiscent of the flag of her homeland.
To Mahi, these colours were not chosen at random. Fleeing political turmoil in Iran, she moved to Serbia in March 2024. Ever since, the meaning of “home” has become profoundly elusive:
“When you immigrate as an immigrant, you can be happy, you can have your life. You can have money, a job, everything. Beginning your journey in life is a big one, but it’s not home. Even when you go to Iran, or when you go to your homeland, you cannot feel at home, you know? So when you immigrate, you have no home, and you have to make it a home.”
(Interview conducted in July 2025)
Determined to build both a home and a future, Mahi finds solace in making active efforts to learn Serbian and finding her community within Belgrade. She believes the first step to making a home is to learn the history of its people and the language. With time and hope, she works towards the day she can truly call Belgrade home.
