Courage & friendship
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
REFUGEE WEEK STORIES
Courage is taking a step in the dark. Leaving your whole life behind and starting over in a new country, coping with isolation, feeling completely out of place – all of this demands great strength.
This Refugee Week and Loneliness Awareness Week, we're celebrating the courage it takes to keep moving forward, even when you don’t know the way.
We highlight the powerful role that friendship and community play for those seeking sanctuary here. Sometimes, one person's support is all it takes to find the resolve to take the next step.
We’ve seen how amazingly our refugee friends are coping with the challenges of a new life, each in their own way. For Refugee Week three of them – Shafagh, Wael and Mahmood – have generously agreed to share their own responses to the question,
“What it has meant to you to have courage in your journey as a refugee?”
We were blown away by their answers, and we think you will be too. They all give their time voluntarily to be on our Refugee Advisory Board, making sure that we are working in a way that is appropriate and helpful to all of our refugee friends.
Wael: courage is not about having no fear
Courage, Wael explains, is about keeping going even when you’re not sure what lies ahead. Originally from Egypt, he has a degree in Library Science and has worked as a teacher. He loves to write and shares his work with a volunteer educational workshop, Write to Life.
Starting over is never easy. But simple acts of kindness, friendship and welcome can make a huge difference. Finding a friend through HostNation gave him a new sense of confidence here in London.
"When someone listens to you, walks beside you and welcomes you, you begin to feel that you belong."
Shafagh: I’m not alone in my journey
Shafagh movingly tells us how beginning again in a new country means learning to navigate a world that can feel completely unfamiliar – from language and culture to the way things work.
An Iranian Kurdish journalist and researcher, Shafagh’s work is informed by her own deep experience of the contexts affecting displaced and marginalised communities. For many years, she has worked on women’s rights, social justice, and supporting working children.
It's understandable, she knows all too well, to feel out of place, to make mistakes, or to question whether you belong.
"In a new country, everything is new: the language, the culture, the people, the system, the way of life. And sometimes you feel lost."
Yet as Shafagh explains, courage is often found in those moments of uncertainty. It's choosing to keep showing up, keep learning and keep building.
Helping others feel welcomed and supported has always been important to her, and Shafagh now works in a school, supporting the next generation through education and personal development.
This work underlines her belief that knowing you have people around you who care makes a huge difference. A kind word, practical support, or simply having someone alongside you reminds you that you're not alone.
Mahmood: Together we make each other stronger
Being a great dad of a four-year-old daughter when you’re isolated in a new country and don’t know your way around is not simple. In fact, it takes a lot of courage.
But Mahmood has taken on the challenge with some awesome resilience and determination. He and his daughter were evacuated from Afghanistan by the UK government, under the most difficult circumstances.
Mahmood’s background in education and research from Kabul University combined with his exceptional language skills – he speaks five languages – are helping him find his path here. He also has a special interest in human rights and migration, informed by his own experience.
"I would like to thank HN for their friendship and support... I gained a lot of confidence and courage and I felt that I’m part of the community and that I’m being believed."
However strong your professional credentials, however, a friend at the right time makes all the difference to your confidence and feeling of belonging. We found Mahmood a local friend, then he and his daughter started coming to our supper clubs with his befriender, and now he is a valuable member of our advisory board. And his daughter has won everyone's hearts!
We applaud the courage of all our refugee friends, and we are so grateful to them for the support they give us in return. As Mahmood says: "Together we make each other stronger."
