Abdul was raised in a war zone. ‘It was a really difficult situation.’ Abdul describes his generation to be a generation who grew up with war and continue to live with war. It has always been an aspect of their everyday. 

‘It was scary.’

Abdul reflects on his childhood and how he recognised the fear in his family’s warnings for example ‘don’t go too far from the house’, because of the numerous things which were happening from explosions to building collapses. The fate of which Abdul and his family knew too well. His dad passed away in 2017 because of ‘an attack in a debris area.’

‘That was a really really terrifying time.’

He explains how he couldn’t believe that his dad had died and how awful the war was at the time. In Abdul’s speech you can feel the sadness and disbelief at the effects of the war on ordinary people like his family. 

‘It was a bad situation for my generation.’

Abdul touches on again how bad war is for young people and children to grow up in a war zone.  However, Abdul still stresses that he still managed to have a sort of childhood with family and friends. He says, ‘we had a good connection of family.’ Abdul then describes how supportive they were of him especially during his childhood. 

Abdul believes that his childhood was still good. As a child doesn’t care about politics and ‘you’re not aware of the situation and what is going on in the country.’ He describes it was good to play with friends, spend time with family and the people in his neighbourhood. During this time, he didn’t think about leaving. 

Then something happened and Abdul had to leave Afghanistan – ‘Its something compulsory.’ Abdul acknowledges that once upon a time he never thought about leaving and never dreamed he would come to Cardiff, to the UK.

‘I think it really changed my life.’

Coming to Cardiff has changed Abdul’s life. He is now studying at college which he describes to be such a positive thing. The level of education in the UK is so much better in comparison to Afghanistan. 

‘I am going to study here, and I am going to make my life better.’

Written By Tess Brunskill.