Teenage Afghan refugee making his mark in Trowbridge

In the 16 short years that Saeed, an Afghan refugee, has lived, he was forced to flee his homeland in a journey that nearly killed him.

He has seen loved ones die in front of his eyes at the hands of the Taliban and he has not seen his beloved family for several years.

Although the first part of Saeed’s story is heartbreaking, a new and immeasurably brighter one is just beginning.

Since June 2016, Saeed has been living with his foster family Kerry, Paul, and their six-year-old daughter, Maci Beety, in Trowbridge. 

“I am so grateful to these kind people for letting me be part of the family. They are the best,” said Saeed.

“It is safe here, nobody will hurt me here. I am very happy. I never went to school in Afghanistan but I am really liking being at Clarendon Academy. I have made lots of friends and I play rugby, cricket and football. Everyone is very friendly.

“I had a very hard time growing up, with the Taliban always fighting, but I am lucky to be where I am now.”

When Saeed was 12, his uncle in Afghanistan used his contacts to find a way for him to leave his village, which is now run by ISIS, and into Pakistan on foot.

Some of the travellers did not survive the treacherous journey, where they were given a bottle of water and a biscuit or two to last them for days. 

Over the next two years or so, he travelled to Iran, sometimes walking, sometimes being hidden in cars and lorries, and then he stayed in a camp somewhere between Hungary and Germany.

Almost exactly two years ago, Saeed was in the back of a truck when it came to a halt.

His transporters had told the then 14-year-old to leap out of the truck when it stopped, but there was one small problem.

The truck had merely slowed down due to traffic and when the emaciated teenager leapt out, he found himself on the M4 near Chippenham.

“When I got out all I could see were cars slowing down for me so I could get to safety. Then the police picked me up,” he said.

Soon afterwards, Mrs Beety was contacted by the police and then Wiltshire Council as the family had signed up to its emergency fostering scheme.

Emergency foster carers can be contacted at anytime and they then look after someone in need for two weeks, before they are transferred elsewhere. 

“He was so small and thin when he came to us. But now he is fit and healthy and is almost fluent in English. When he came he knew no English,” said Mrs Beety. 

“We have been foster parents since 2010 and have had around 50 children stay here since then. I am a full-time foster carer and Paul is a retained firefighter and a caretaker at Walwayne School. We are so proud of Saeed.”

It is easy to see why. 

Saeed is currently doing GCSEs in PE, science, maths, English and hospitality and in September he will start a catering course at Trowbridge College.

He also is a talented winger for Trowbridge Academy and Trowbridge Rugby Club. 

“I love rugby so much. I wish that one day I will see my mother, father, two sisters and brother again, maybe playing rugby,” he said.

“I want to write a story on my life. I think people would be interested in it.”

Mrs Beety said: “There is a website called Trace the Face where refugees can post their photo to try and find their family they have been separated from. Unfortunately he cannot do that until he is 18 but we will keep looking.”

Saeed, seemingly, is as hard as nails.

“I broke my wrist playing rugby in October last year but I kept playing until December because it was quite sore,” he said.

Mrs Beety added: “He has a very high pain threshold and he loves his rugby. When he played in the under 15’s at the rugby club, he was players’ player of the year and spectators player of the year, which was amazing.”

Saeed also has a part time job at Papa Pizza in Trowbridge. 

In Wiltshire, there are currently 120 fostering families, with more than 400 children that need fostering. To keep up with the rising demand, 120 extra foster carers are needed. 

“We got into foster care after one day Paul went to a fire and he recognised one child who was caught up in it,” said Mrs Beety. 

“After seeing him again after he had been properly looked after by a fostering family, Paul said, ‘’Why can’t we do this?’

“We started off part time but I have done it full time for a while now.

“Saaed has refugee status so he can stay here until 2020 but when that comes he can apply for indefinite stay to the home office. We would love him to stay.” 

Foster Care Fortnight runs from May 14-27. It is a UK campaign to find 7,000 families for children nationwide.

Visit www.wiltshire.gov.uk/fostering or phone 01225 716510.