"Anne" from Afghanistan

‘SRS is my own beautiful family’

 

In 2022, Anne was forced to migrate to the UK from Afghanistan. This was due to the collapse of the Government and the Taliban taking over, leading to a chaotic period of 15 days in which everyone attempted to evacuate the country. She vividly remembers her experience leaving her home country, whether it be rushing to the airport, spending 5 months in a safe house in Afghanistan or even having to spend over a month in Pakistan in order to apply for a UK Visa.

 

In her opinion, her life in the UK is not even comparable to that in Afghanistan. She was just 5 years old when the Taliban first took over; they implemented policies such as banning girls from going to school and beating those who did not pray. She is extremely grateful for her and her daughter’s current quality of life, especially when seen in contrast to her own experiences as a child growing up. In particular, she is very grateful for the gender equality in the UK, as well as little things that we usually take for granted such as public parks and playgrounds. However, there are inevitably aspects of her homeland that she still misses, such as the beautiful landscape and perfect weather; she is especially upset that people are not able to experience these beautiful elements of her country.  

 

Once in the UK, she was approached by SRS volunteers who helped her and after learning about the Slough Council for Voluntary Service, she managed to join the SRS team as a volunteer. Fast forward a few months, she now feels extremely connected to the charity, and views it as her own ‘beautiful family’. Volunteering with SRS has allowed her to connect with a plethora of people living in her area (helping to deal with the initial isolation that she felt moving to the UK), as well as learn about topics such as the refugee/immigration system, UK administration policy and more. In the future, she aims to continue working for the charity as she says, ‘I want to help refugees and asylum seekers integrate into society, contribute positively, and discover their unique strengths and potential’. She ended by saying ‘My mission is to assist them in making meaningful contributions to the community’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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