Salma
My name is Salma Majeed. I came from Afghanistan along with my family and arrived in the UK in June 2014.
We claimed asylum and we waited for our case decision for about 5 years. Luckily, I got my refugee statues last year in 2019 but my family is still waiting for a decision. Relocating from Afghanistan has been a huge challenge for me.
At college I was provided with a mentor to help me with my studies. That helped me a lot at the beginning because it was like a boost up for me, learning new things and getting help when I needed it the most during my exams. Dan was my educational support worker with whom I had 1:1 session to help me in applying to universities and sanctuary scholarships. The day I found out I was going to Brunel was the happiest day. I felt very close to my dreams on that day. But I am still going through struggles to apply every year to different charities hoping to get grants to help me continue my education. It’s really easy to write everything down but the feelings and the sufferings one go though can only really feel how hard it is.
Written by Salma, December 2020
My immigration status has forced me to change schools and accommodations over the past 5 years. This disruption has also had a significant impact on my health and social life. For example, since living in the UK, I have attended 3 different schools and colleges, and have lived in 5 different houses in various parts of London. Coming to a new country with a different language and culture was really hard for us. I was very afraid of how people would react to me, what if they laugh at my English?
The first 3 years of my life in London was like a nightmare, everywhere I faced a lot of struggles such as financial difficulties, no social life and problems finding help in our asylum case. Despite this, I have overcome these obstacles and have achieved very high grades in my Level 3 Diploma and I am currently studying Biomedical science in Brunel University.
Education has been a great source of hope for me during these years. RSN has had a significant role in my success, because without their help I wouldn't have been able to reach my goals.
My immigration status has forced me to change schools and accommodations over the past 5 years. This disruption has also had a significant impact on my health and social life. For example, since living in the UK, I have attended 3 different schools and colleges, and have lived in 5 different houses in various parts of London. Coming to a new country with a different language and culture was really hard for us. I was very afraid of how people would react to me, what if they laugh at my English? The first 3 years of my life in London was like a nightmare, everywhere I faced a lot of struggles such as financial difficulties, no social life and problems finding help in our asylum case. Despite this, I have overcome these obstacles and have achieved very high grades in my Level 3 Diploma and I am currently studying Biomedical science in Brunel University
Education has been a great source of hope for me during these years. RSN has had a significant role in my success, because without their help I wouldn't have been able to reach my goals.