'I celebrated my 18th birthday at the asylum seekers' centre in Arnhem on 18 December 2020. At school, I celebrated quietly with her best friends. They brought small presents and cakes. Back at the AZC, I ate cake with my mum and dad. I found it an awkward day, I did not want to pay too much attention to the fact that I was now really becoming an adult.
Cake and pastries still remind me of South Africa, the country where I lived with my parents before we ended up in the Netherlands. "My mother had a bakery shop there," she says. "That ran incredibly well. She sold not only cakes, but also everything that goes with them. She even gave courses in cake baking and decorating."
Eventually, I had to flee with my family. We booked tickets to the Netherlands and left.'