LONDON: A former child refugee who fled Afghanistan for the UK without knowing any English has earned an architecture degree and pledged to use his expertise to rebuild his war-torn home country.
Salman Khan, 25, fled Afghanistan as a child and made the six-month journey through snow and mountains to reach Britain.
At 12 years old he was found by the roadside in the Midlands, and picked up by police before being placed into the foster care system.
Leicestershire County Council said: “Salman’s story is inspiring.”
Khan said it was his dream to build schools in Afghanistan because “it’s a war-torn country and someone has to rebuild it.
“This is the whole reason I chose to study architecture,” he added.
“I have a friend who said ‘I will build it’ and I said ‘I will design it,’” Khan said.
After making the perilous trip with strangers to the UK, Khan was taken into the care of a local foster family, who he said inspired him.
“They have got degrees — they are accountants and doctors,” he said.
“There were photos of their graduations outside my bedroom, every time I came out. I wanted my photo on that wall too.”
He learned English with the help of his foster parents and social workers while attending school, and he soon went on to university.
“When I went to school, I was shocked at the facilities they had. It was so different from what I knew, there was even carpet on the floor,” he said.
“It was not the way it was back home, but I did not realize that was not normal.
“When I came here, it gave me a sense that I was missing opportunities. It was a shock really. The amount of help I got here was tremendous.”
The young architect is now working to support a campaign by Leicestershire County Council to recruit foster carers to support young refugees.
Deborah Taylor of Leicestershire County Council said: “He’s a young man who has dealt with many hardships, but with the support of a kind and loving family, he has flourished and achieved a life ambition.”
