Behind the borders of Afghanistan

(Name changed to protect identity)

“My name is Farid. I am 10 years old. Not so long ago, I lived and studied in Kabul.

Back in Kabul, we lived in fear for our lives as a family.  We were afraid all the time. One morning my parents took my brother and me and we fled to Uzbekistan.
Having recovered a little after the terrible events, we decided to start a new life in Uzbekistan. My brother and I dreamed of going back to school and playing sports again. For two years we did not attend school.

One day a lawyer of the Istikbolli Avlod Center visited us. She explained to me, my brother and my mother that they provide free legal services to children and their families and will do her best to help us with enrollment into the public education system. Soon she talked to the school director and I was then accepted in the fourth grade and my brother in the first. We treated well here. Teachers kindly explain to us things that we do not yet understand.

Of course, it is safe to live here. We can sleep, knowing that tomorrow we will wake up and go to school again, but we still miss Afghanistan. I miss my home, the streets where I used to play, my friends, and school, and my brother keeps asking about our grandmother and aunt who are left there.

I hope that someday we will return to Afghanistan, to a time when nothing threatened our childhood and future. In the meantime, we will explore our new home, new languages, and make new friends.”

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Farid's family was provided with medical and legal support within the framework of the project funded by the European Union and UNICEF "Ensuring expanded access to inclusive education, social services and legal assistance in the Surkhandarya region”.

According to CRC, every child has the right to education, since it is a powerful tool for breaking the cycle of poverty, supporting child survival, growth, development, and well-being, and closing the gap in social inequality.

Like several children, with the assistance of the Istikbolli Avlod public information center, Farid and his brother have been enrolled in the public education system in Uzbekistan.

“I am so grateful for the legal assistance and documentation that has enabled my two boys  to get back in school. After we ran away from the Taliban in Afghanistan, my children were out of school for two years, because they did not have the necessary documents. It was not easy”, Fatima, the mother.

To ensure that every child is provided with social and legal aid, the program trains and expands the number of specialists on the basics of social work skills and social welfare management. The next step in improving access to education for all children is establishing inclusive multi-lingual preschool education facilities in schools in Surkhandarya region.