Ten months ago, Fatima Sarwari and her family moved from a country where women have no rights and where music is banned, to the UNESCO City of Music.
For the 21-year-old, it was a big cultural shock making the move from Kabul in Afghanistan to Belfast in Northern Ireland, but she said the people here have been so kind, supportive, and welcoming.
This week, Fatima is set to launch the Afghan Association of Northern Ireland to help support people seeking sanctuary here, as well as helping people from Afghanistan create a community, celebrate their culture, and integrate within Northern Irish society.
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Speaking to Belfast Live, Fatima said she loves getting to know the city of Belfast and its people.
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"When we first arrived, we were in a hotel in quarantine and it was really hard. But after we finished quarantine, I remember my siblings and I went around town, we used Google Maps and went to CastleCourt, we were just walking around," she explained.
"We got lost and we couldn't find our way back to the hotel, as the city just felt really big. But we liked the city, we like the people we've been seeing, they all have a smile on their face and Belfast was really welcoming and overwhelming for us.
"We went back to the hotel and I was asking my mum to come out with us, she doesn't speak any English. The day she agreed and came out, we went to Victoria Square and went up to the top, and my mum said 'wow I really like this city.'
"We were in a hotel where all we could see out the window was just a street, you were feeling like it was an empty city. When we went out, my mum said she thought there would be a possibility we could stay here.
"I have found people so kind and supportive. I found Belfast a very small, lovely city, where the people are so supportive and kind to each other. The kindness everyone shows is improving the city, and everyone who comes here is feeling welcomed. This is the difference between your city and ours [Kabul]."
Since she arrived in Belfast, Fatima has been meeting with other groups, and has been sharing her story at events where guests have included Michelle O'Neill and the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Tina Black.
She said the key role of the Afghan Association NI is to integrate those seeking sanctuary in Northern Ireland into society here, while promoting the music and culture of Afghanistan that is not able to be shared in the country.
Fatima said: "I'm so happy because I can take part to preserve the Afghan culture and Afghan music here. In some ways, we're trying to support the musicians and artists that are in Afghanistan too, and also those here seeking sanctuary.
"Our main plan is to support and preserve Afghan culture, but also to support people who are coming here from Afghanistan. We want to integrate the people of Afghanistan here in this community, and also to raise awareness of people seeking sanctuary here.
"One of our aims is helping people that are here, giving them more information and referring them to other organisations who can help, as well as promoting Afghan culture.
"All the time that you're hearing about Afghanistan it's about bomb explosions, poverty, genocide, the Taliban - all those negative things.
"But there's also a bright side, there's the people who lived and kept this culture alive for many years, but unfortunately now they don't have the right to celebrate it. So we just want to celebrate those things, and we also want to be a lobby for the musicians and artists trapped in Afghanistan."
When it comes to leading the new association, Fatima said it's something that would be unheard of in Afghanistan, due to the restrictions placed on women in everyday life.
"As a female from Afghanistan, I'm feeling proud of myself," she said. "I'm not wearing a hijab. From the beginning, I had to fight for everything, for my basic rights. Even sometimes with my family, I had to convince them of certain things I wanted to do.
"It was a big fight and I'm proud of myself that I could do it, and I'm here. I'm coming from a country where women and girls don't have any rights, but here, I have the right to lead an organisation and that is a really big thing for me."
On the day that we spoke, Fatima referenced a Belfast City Council report that had just emerged, which stated that ethnic minorities continued to face racism and hate crime in everyday life in Northern Ireland.
She said we should not let our differences become obstacles - but should use them as strengths to improve our society.
"I think human beings are all different, even siblings in one family are different. Difference doesn't mean it's bad, or that we can't all be together. I think we can use this difference in a good way," Fatima said.
"As we are coming from a different culture, different race, different features - we can use these different experiences and exchange them. We can show the good things we have brought here, and we can learn from you as well.
"We're all human beings, we don't have any differences except good differences, and we can use that to build and improve ourselves, which is the most important thing."
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