The story of Maryam, an Afghanistani immigrant
“I do not get to see my parents, but life is much better in the UK.”
As mentioned in my previous post about my visit to a mosque in Southall, I met an Afghanistani girl who helped and showed me how to pray correctly when I attended the prayer. Her name is Maryam and she is now 26 years old.
This post is dedicated to the insightful conversation I had with her about her life as an immigrant in London.
Maryam comes from Afghanistan and she first came to London in October, 2013. She first lived in central London for about a year. However, renting a house in zone 1 was expensive, so she decided to move to Southall. She feels like home when she lives in Southall as she can possibly find everything, including exotic spices and South Asian traditional food, she needs here. At the present, she is studying English at two different local colleges in Southall. She supports herself by receiving the money from the UK government. Her current immigration status is “indefinite leave to remain”, which means that she can stay in the country as long as she wants without any restriction. She is also qualified for naturalization.
I guess she is an asylum seeker as Afghanistan is in war right now. Maryam says that she has limited freedom in Afghanistan. Here, in the UK, she does not have to cover her head unless she is in a mosque. Nevertheless, she will be killed in Afghanistan if she forgets to cover her hair wherever she goes. Life in Afghanistan to her was horrible. That is why she decided to come to the UK with no prior knowledge of English. She had a hard time communicating with local people when she first arrived. However, with all her will, she went to school and practiced speaking English every day. When I had a conversation with her, she could understand almost everything.
Maryam misses her family a lot. It is much easier to call and skype with her parents now as there is Internet in Afghanistan now. Nevertheless, she does not know when she will be able to go back to her motherland again as airfare is expensive. To her, being able to afford about £1000 to fly back home is very difficult. She told me, “I do not get to see my parents, but life is much better in the UK. I have more freedom to do what I want.”
Maryam hopes that she can look for a job to support herself when her English is good. Her plan is to apply to become a British citizen and then sponsor her parents to come and live with her.
Maryam reminds me of how lucky I am to be able to live in a peaceful country and go abroad to study in both the US and the UK. Other immigrants may not enjoy their experience in London, but Maryam regards her journey to London as a blessing. She does not face discrimination. She is treated well in London, while she was treated badly in her own country. London is a savior to her as the city opens its arm to welcome her to come and settle.
