Mehran: "My faith is in my heart, how can I prove it to the IND?"

In 2015, Mehran and his wife arrived at Schiphol Airport to seek asylum in the Netherlands. They were in a closed asylum reception centre for 21 days. They were not allowed to go outside. "I became depressed and lost all my hope of a better life," Mehran says. "But now I have been here for 10 years and, with God's help, I have had my own business for 7 months. I even want to hire employees. Building a life was not easy, but I have been lucky."

Mehran would like to do something in the Netherlands and be independent again. "That is why I wanted to get my driver's licence," he says. Laughing, he adds, "Also because of the Dutch weather". But without a residence permit, the municipality will not lend him money for driving lessons. Determined not to give up, he starts taking theory lessons himself. "I also had to learn Dutch for that," Mehran explains. "I learned the language through YouTube and practiced every day." After much hard work, he takes theory exams and passes. Finally something positive.

Yet he is still not allowed to borrow money for driving lessons because he still does not have a residence permit. Once again he suffers from depressive symptoms, just like when he was in detention years ago. "I prayed to God: what should I do?" In good fortune, he goes back to the municipality for a 2nd application. This time a different employee helps him and he does get a loan. Now he can finally start his driving lessons.

"Once I had my driver's licence, my life in the Netherlands really began. I saw it as a sign to do something. So I immediately started looking for work through an employment agency." Mehran became a meal delivery man in the Leiden area. "I did that for a few months, but I did not see a future in it. Then I worked as a car polisher at a garage for a few months."

In Zoetermeer, Mehran finds a job as a courier, but to do that he must be registered as self-employed. "So I registered at the

Working is not the only way Mehran is building a new life in the Netherlands. He exercises his democratic rights and demonstrates with his family against the Iranian regime. "I have to. What is happening in Iran touches me. I am shocked by the harsh action of the strict Islamic regime against demonstrators."

The violence particularly affects Mehran because he experienced it himself. "I grew up as a Shiite Muslim, like everyone else in Iran. But I ended up not believing in that strict Islamic God." He was given a Bible in Farsi by foreigners. "After reading the Bible, I became even more curious about Christianity and joined an underground home church. I felt connected to Christianity and converted."

One day, Iranian police violently invaded the home church. Mehran was arrested along with others. After a week in prison, he was allowed to await his trial in freedom. But he knew that the death penalty was hanging over his head if he were to be convicted of apostasy. So he decided to flee.

Mehran has built a life in the Netherlands, but he does not yet have a residence permit. "That is the only thing I am still missing. Despite multiple applications for asylum, the

He shows newspaper clippings with photos of demonstrations in The Hague, showing him with his wife and children. Mehran also has cut-out interviews with local newspapers in which he talks about his conversion. Everything he keeps carefully. "As proof for the IND. Because they want proof, preferably documents."

However, Mehran has high hopes of still getting a residence permit: "I have reapplied. Maybe God wants me to trust that it will succeed."