“David” from Afghanistan

Slough is my new home, but Afghanistan will always be my country.

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David left Afghanistan on 19th May 1999. He escaped prison, travelled through Pakistan, , 

Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Holland, and Belgium (without access to a phone or any form of technology) before finally arriving in the UK on 12th November that year. Nevertheless, he remembers his early life in Afghanistan fondly, reminiscing that “it was brilliant” - he was able to go to school, play football and work with his father at a workshop where he was fixing radios, televisions, and other electrical devices.

 

Change came in the 1990s when constant struggles for power in the government led to instability and insecurity. He vividly remembers that the day the Mujahidin and later the Taliban came to the power, also as it was the day of his wedding. By 1998, the Taliban controlled most of Afghanistan. This led to the destruction of the David’s job and his father's business. Ultimately, he become discouraged by the work and the inappropriate and unconventional treatment and fled the country. He says that the “very simple needs of people” were not being meet, and so he left because, in his words, “I didn’t want my children to suffer like I did.”

 

Once David left, he knew that he “never [would] go back there”. But his life in the UK wasn't easy at first either. He poignantly said that he went from a career in journalism to “come to push a wheelbarrow, make cement, sand and then work for a chicken shop.” Thankfully, David has been able to overcome most of these initial challenges. David has been here for almost 24 years now, and he says that SRS helped him a lot; he has a full-time job, provides guidance and assistance with compassion and empathy to immigrants and asylum seeker families who are experiencing difficulties. Also, he coaches a refugee football team and deals with their wellbeing and positive activity. As he looks to the future, David plans to publish a book that he has already started writing, but he also fervently wants to make positive social change in Slough, his “new home”, improving the way that refugees and asylum seekers are treated in the locality. He loves art, poetry, and reading books, and always says that “the path to happiness and prosperity passes through books”- not just for his children, but for everyone, even for the boys from Eton college who are involved in this project.