Partnership
We met Nasir Ahmad Nusrati at the end of March 2023 in the courtyard of the Poitiers law faculty. On November 26, 2021, this Afghan researcher fled his country with his wife and 5-month-old daughter, after the Taliban came to power. At the end of a journey of more than 5,700 km, he and his family arrived on December 11 in the Vienne prefecture. Because the University of Poitiers accepted his thesis application within the Program to assist in the emergency reception of scientists in exile (Pause).
From recognized refugee status to learning French
Three years after his arrival in France, the doctoral student in public law, aged 32, has made progress in learning French. “I learned the language for a year and a half with the French as a Foreign Language Center (CFLE). I already had an advanced level and I am preparing to take a Dalf 2 (advanced French language diploma)”he says. The multilingual student, who speaks English, Persian and Pashto, has also improved thanks to the Poitevin associations Buddy System refugees and Education world 86 and by following online courses.
Registered at the doctoral school, he also participated in more than three hundred hours of training. “And I would like to continue to fully understand the French legal system and research methodology. »
Nasir Ahmad Nusrati also discusses the length of the administrative procedures, from his request for asylum to his refugee status, acquired in October 2022. “I obtained the necessary documents (birth certificate, family record book, travel document, Vitale card, residence permit) in September 2024. And after changing my status, I had to request a receipt every three months in the prefecture »he remembers.
Another difficulty is that his wife, who is starting out in French and wants to work in health, was not selected to take courses at the CFLE in January 2025, “the training group being complete”.
“No miracle solution”
His experience necessarily feeds into his thesis subject, which deals with durable solutions for Afghan refugees; a community which represents more than fifty thousand people in France. “There is very little research and studies devoted to analyzing what happens after obtaining refugee status”he indicates.
In the first part, Nasir Ahmad Nusrati intends to demonstrate that repatriation and the right of return, even if it is more alternative than definitive, are “unsuitable solutions”taking into account the political situation in Afghanistan. “There are no fundamental rights or freedom. Girls are not allowed to go to school, or go to university, or go out without a man. There is also no right to retirement for employees”he illustrates.
In a second part, the doctoral student is interested in the resettlement and integration of refugees into society. “This involves language learning, acculturation, training and professional integration”he mentions. And to recognize that he “There is no miracle solution for all refugees”.
The thirty-year-old, who has already published several research articles internationally, hopes to complete and then defend his thesis between January and June 2026. And does not envisage his future anywhere other than in France, by working “in the academic field”.
