Fleeing Afghanistan alone as a child

Witness History

In 1999, Waheed Arian left his family in Afghanistan to seek refuge in the UK. He was just 15.

He was escaping violence, poverty and the threat of being recruited as a child soldier.

He tells Vicky Farncombe about how a dream of one day becoming a doctor sustained him.

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(Photo: Dr Waheed Arian as a child. Credit: Dr Waheed Arian)