Award-winning Haroon targets social worker career after fleeing Afghanistan on his own aged 14

Haroon was presented with the In the Face of Adversity prize at this summer’s YorkMix Hero Awards and followed that accolade up three weeks later by being named our ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Student of the Year at the REACH Awards ceremony.

After the militant Taliban group seized power back in his home country, Haroon’s heartbroken mother demanded that her son got out of the country as quickly as possible due to risks for his safety because family members had served in the toppled regime’s armed forces. 

He then endured an arduous one-and-a-half-year journey before reaching these shores, almost succumbing to extreme thirst and hyperthermia along the way, not to mention the beatings he received from unscrupulous border police.

Having found happiness and a safe haven in Newton-on-Ouse as well as friends, emotional support and prospects of a future at College, Haroon then had to contend with a death in his loving foster family.

His story could, without doubt, be turned into a film, given the suffering he has been subjected to but he is beginning to gain control of his own script and it is now one he would be able to write in English, having been charged double on his bus commutes in and out of College when he first arrived in the country because he thought the driver was inquiring about his marital status when he was asked if he wanted a single!

As well as immersing himself in village life – working at Newton-on-Ouse’s Mind charity shop, playing cricket and washing pots at the local pub - Haroon has been a model student during his first two years at Sim Balk Lane and is now preparing to study for his English GSCE at College in 2024/25 when he will also enrol on a Painting & Decorating course.   

After he has gained the required GSCE grade, he then intends to take his first steps towards his preferred profession on our Diploma in Health & Social Care course. 

It is harder to imagine a more empathetic social worker than Haroon – few people can have been through more while still only 18 – and, remembering his journey to the UK, he said: “My family decided to send me out of Afghanistan when I was 14. I didn’t know why at the time, but I later found out that they were scared that something would happen to me because members of my family were in the military.

“It sometimes doesn’t feel real or like it was me when I think back. I walked through deserts in Iran and Pakistan which were so hot and I had no water and, then, I walked for three days in Bulgaria when it was -12C and so cold. 

“Both were really, really difficult, but it wasn’t just the weather. At times, there were people on the borders and soldiers who wanted to bully you and had no consideration for how old you were and what could happen to a child because of their actions. 

“I went through a lot of big things at a very young age, which can sometimes make me feel upset but, when I met my foster family in England, it was the start of my new life. Now, I would like to be a social worker. 

“My tutor has said she thinks I would be good at it and I know I could support people a lot after my life experiences. I need to improve my English first, so I’m doing Painting & Decorating next year and GCSE English together. It will be good to have those Painting & Decorating skills but, after I pass that, I want to do Health and Social Care.”

Haroon only started formal education in Afghanistan at the age of seven and the one word he knew on arrival in England was “yes”.

The language barriers placed him in some “funny situations” at times, none more so than during his spot of transport trouble.

“I’d ask for a ticket and the driver would say, ‘Single?’ and I’d think, ‘Why is this driver always asking me if I’m single or married?’,” he laughed. “Eventually, I asked Tilly (Dickenson), my Progress Coach at College, why bus drivers in England ask if you’re single or married and she quickly told me what he was really saying and to stop telling him I was single!   

“Now, my English is much better and it’s all because of how the tutors work hard with us by showing easier ways for us to understand the language. I also always try my best to talk to people. If I talk and listen to somebody, it helps my English and is like another College lesson for me.”

Haroon went on to point out how ESOL tutor Helen Wilson’s teaching style helped encourage learning through the introduction of fun competition in an environment where students are often brought closer together by sharing stories of trauma that resonate with their classroom peers. 

“There were 12 of us, so we split into two teams and had group competitions in class,” Haroon explained. “For one of them, I could pick a word and, then, the other team would need to think of an adjective, noun or verb that started with the same letter that word ended with. 

“If somebody made a mistake, that team lost a point and it helped our vocabulary and grammar in a fun way that made everybody think. Helen is really nice and she does her best to make sure her students progress into education and go on to get jobs. 

“She also arranged for us to go to the theatre to watch a play about Afghanistan. She cares and thinks about us a lot and understands how we feel. 

“Everybody in the class looked after each other too and we are all good friends. It can be very difficult to tell somebody what happened to you in the past but, when I spoke to somebody in my class about something I had experienced, I could tell by their faces that they understood and I could do the same for them as well.” 

Away from Campus, Haroon has found a foster home where he has been made to feel as loved as he is by his own family back in Afghanistan.

When his foster mum went to live in Austria, he moved in with his foster aunty but, after she sadly passed away earlier this year, he is now living with his foster “grandma and grandpa” until his foster mum returns to the UK. 

“We have a very strong relationship and I feel like I am living with my real family,” Haroon declared. “They have made me feel like that.

“I respect them the same way that I respect my own mum and grandma in Afghanistan and they treat me like I’m their grandson. My foster brother is 26 and he’s really, really nice, too.

“He always says if there’s anything I want or need, I just have to ask him and I know he will do that for me. I’m still able to speak to my mum face-to-face on WhatsApp every two or three days.

“She and my sister live with my uncle and they are safe and OK. I’m the youngest child in the family, so she is very happy when she gets to talk to me and sees that I am safe.”

Newton-on-Ouse could probably not be any further removed from Haroon’s birthplace, but he is embracing his rural surroundings.

Despite initial reservations, he is also now a fan of English cuisine with a Sunday Roast his new favourite meal.

“When I visit my friends in Selby and eat Afghan food now, my foster family get the stomach ache tablets out ready for me when I get back because my body can’t cope with spicy food anymore!” he laughs.

One similarity between Yorkshire village life and his homeland, though, is a shared passion for cricket.

It was the only sport he was allowed to play growing up in Afghanistan and, during his first season turning out for Clifton Alliance’s fourth team, he was the side’s leading wicket taker with 24 in 12 matches. 

“The communication when I’m playing sports helps me and the easiest way to deal with the things I have seen in my life is to keep busy and to think about my future rather than my past,” he pointed out and, as well as starring for Clifton, he also plays football for Easingwold and VX (formerly known as rock-it-ball) with Stillington.

Haroon’s language skills have also been enhanced during his voluntary work and part-time job.

“My foster grandmother’s brother works in the Mind charity shop in Newton-on-Ouse and invited me to help out there,” he added. “I didn’t know what to expect or anything about working in a shop, but I started sizing clothes and I’m still working there, so I have gained a lot of new skills.

“I’m really happy there and it has been very useful in helping with my English. I’m also working in a village pub The Dawnay Arms washing pots in the kitchen.

“I started doing three hours a week, but now I have been given more work and do three five-hour shifts a week.” 

Haroon’s association with mental health charity Mind, meanwhile, is close to his heart having accessed support for his own well-being since arriving in the UK and starting his College studies. 

“Tilly was the first person I met at York College,” he smiled. “She became my Progress Coach and we built up a great relationship.

“I’ll never forget how much she helped me. She always checked in on me to see how I was feeling and encouraged me to talk about things.

“She has changed job now, which was very sad for me, but we have new progress coaches called Alex and Claudia, who are also nice. My foster family and one or two of my friends also know everything about me and they understand if I need to talk to them.

“Sometimes, I can’t sleep easily in a room on my own and have nightmares, but it’s getting to the point where I try not to think about it too much. I always like to joke with my friends, my classmates and my tutors and I always try and smile at people because, if I act happy, it makes me feel happy, and I don’t get depressed as easily.”

For anybody struggling with their mental health, Mind will help you access support and can be contacted by visiting here