‘They told me not to give up and to go forward’

Interview with Mahdi, who received support from the Emergency Fund

Most students can lead a fairly carefree life and mainly focus on studying. But what if you are faced with illness, war in your home country or other unforeseen circumstances that leave you in acute financial difficulties? Utrecht University offers additional support wherever possible. Also through the Emergency Fund. With a modest contribution from this fund, students can, for instance, buy food, pay rent and, as a result, ultimately graduate. 

Who are these students and what is their story? Today, we talk to Mahdi Aghayee Meibodi, a Master’s student in Artificial Intelligence.

World upside down

In Iran Mahdi was leading a mostly calm life. He lived with his parents in Teheran, did a Bachelor’s in computer engineering, loved to read and collect books and to spend time with his friends. And he had something exiting to look forward to: he was going to the Netherlands to study at Utrecht University. 

Little did Mahdi know that just months after his arrival in Utrecht his world and that of his loved ones would be drastically turned upside down. In February 2026 the United States and Israel started a war against Iran. 
 
“The situation soon went haywire. For over three months I was cut off from everything; there was no internet connection which made contact with my parents impossible. I was devastated and so extremely worried. On the news I would see places close to my parents’ house that had been bombed, but I had no ways to check if people were alright. And the little information I did receive, was not good: notifications that some of my friends are no longer with us. It was the scariest time of my life.”  

I was skipping meals to save money

Trying to survive

With the internet connection, the possibility to transfer money out of the country is also lost. So the financial support Mahdi had been receiving from his family, stops. Despite his parttime job at a supermarket, he is severely struggling. “There was a huge pressure on me”  - he pauses for a second to get a grip on his emotions - “I was skipping meals to save money and all my mental capacity went to trying to survive.”  

As he is suffering from depression and anxiety, Mahdi is in regular contact with his student advisor for mental support and to help him stay on track with his studies. It is this advisor who tells him about the Emergency Fund and refers him to a student counsellor. 

Once you’ve seen that side of humanity, you lose hope

“When I was told that there was help, it gave me so much hope. It really saved me. It gave me an aid to sustain myself for a few months, awaiting how things are going to unfold. Otherwise, I honestly don’t know what I would have done. Now I don’t have to struggle to survive and scrape by. And in the summer I can work more and save some money.”  

Worrying about his family and friends and having financial distress on top of that, mentally exhausted Mahdi. “I was in a constant state of panic. The violence haunts you, it is always on your mind. Once you’ve seen that side of humanity, you lose hope. But the support from the university made a big difference. It helped me to calm down and focus on studying again. Like me, unfortunately, there are also many other students who deal with things that are completely out of their control.”  

Unpredictable

“Thankfully my family is doing alright at the moment and I can talk to them again; the internet connection is back. But the situation in Iran is still unpredictable. In the Netherlands things are well organised, with time tables and planning ahead. But where I come from, as you can see on the news, nothing can be predicted, so planning far ahead does not make sense.”  

The thought of going back to Iran to be with his family has crossed Mahdi’s mind. “But my mother said something that stuck with me: ‘Every time I wake up from strikes, the thought that brings me peace is that at least my son is somewhere safe’.” 

Not alone

“Before receiving help from the Emergency Fund I counted my survival chances at zero percent. There was no possible way I could sustain myself. Thankfully I was not alone. Apart from the financial support, my student advisor and counsellor guided me and told me that there was hope. They told me not to give up and to go forward. And this is exactly what I am trying to do.”  

Also read the story of Zhiyang Chen, Master’s student in Computing Science