“Grace” from Afghanistan

‘We miss everything’

 

Grace loved Afghanistan. She was able to go to school, work, while had access to a strong healthcare and education system (in which both her mother and sisters were teachers). However, after the Taliban took over, her home was taken from her and she was forced to flee to the UK in 2022. 

 

Growing up, Grace excelled at school and after studying at university she became a paediatrician, working for over 20 years before coming to the UK. In her opinion, the Afghanistan she grew up in was unrecognisable to its current state today: it was a friendly environment, with no violence and no gender inequality between males and females. She spoke on behalf of her family, saying ‘We miss a lot, we miss our family, we miss our home, we miss our job, we miss everything. Over the last few years, Afghanistan has gone back to 0’. 

 

Upon moving to the UK, she values the freedom that many take for granted, and as a doctor she is grateful that everyone has access to healthcare here. Her favourite memories were watching her children be able to return to work and her grandchildren go to school. 

 

Of course, she faced many problems being a refugee in a new country - especially one which has so many different cultures - and particularly found finding a circle of friends difficult. However, she mentioned how thankful she was to the government for helping her to integrate and introducing her to others from her background.  

 

Grace will never forget what SRS has done for her. When she arrived, SRS volunteers helped her with enrolling her grandchildren into school. Grace sees SRS as ‘friendly and extremely supportive’ and currently she volunteers at the charity to help organise some of their activities, such as English and sports classes. Her favourite experience with SRS is hosting a large picnic for a group of refugees!

 

Grace loves the UK, but she’ll never forget her life in Afghanistan; she ended by stating that her main aim for the future is ‘to find her country (Afghanistan) safe again’.