Taj Haroun is from Darfur, Sudan. He fled Darfur because of genocide and systematic persecution, and he arrived in Israel in 2008 searching for freedom and a place to call home. Taj was involved in activism to promote a better understanding about African refugees and asylum seekers in Israel
After 3 years of his stay in Israel he applied to study Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at IDC Herzliya. Going to a prestigious school such as IDC was not easy thing for an asylum seeker. Luckily, Taj met with Joey Low who supports African students pursuing higher education in Israel. With Joey’s support and Taj’s hard work, Taj successfully graduated from IDC Herzliya and did his MA in Tel-Aviv University.
Taj and a few others founded The African Students Organization in Israel -ASOI. It is an organization that supports refugees and asylum seekers in achieving their academic aspirations . Taj was unanimously chosen to be the CEO of our organization. He was chosen because of his leadership, diligence and wisdom. Taj is a great leader who maintains friendly and professional relationship with all the members of the organization.
On March 18th, 2019, Taj left Israel for Canada to pursue a better life. In his send-off party he said : “You are my family”. Taj created a family in ASO. He paved the way for many Africans to pursue higher education. He believed that even with difficulties, if we have each other we can overcome all. We thank him for his enormous contribution in our lives and wish him luck in his new journey.
