A mere six months ago, Abdul* was in a desperate situation. He had fled his native Afghanistan for Iran with his family when he was a small child and went on to become one of first Afghans to study chemistry at a top Iranian university, but after returning to Afghanistan as an adult and publicly engaging in human rights activism there, he once again needed to escape and about nine years ago he was able to procure visas for himself, his wife and children to return to Iran by entering an organic chemistry PhD programme there. Unfortunately, a couple of years ago, his PhD programme was ending and Abdul and his family were facing the prospect of deportation back to Afghanistan where they might face persecution as a Hazara ethnic minority. But just when all hope had faded, his luck finally changed.
In February 2023 Abdul says he became the first Afghan to earn an organic chemistry PhD in Iran, publishing five research papers along the way. But despite this accomplishment, his circumstances were dire. He had spent several years applying for postdoctoral and other research positions abroad, seeking help from charitable organisations like the Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara) and Scholars at Risk, as well as reaching out to embassies to procure humanitarian visas for himself and his family, but was refused or met silence. Abdul was out of money and on the verge of losing his housing. ‘This went on for months and I just faced rejection after rejection,’ he recounts. ‘The universities said their capacity was full.’
It was in the first quarter of 2024 when Abdul snagged an interview with a university in London. After Abdul was offered the post, he immediately informed Cara, a London-based rescue mission for academics at risk around the world. Cara helped Abdul secure the visas he needed and made the necessary arrangements for him and his family to move to London earlier this year on a two-year visa.
At first, they stayed in an Airbnb but that was too expensive. ‘I wanted to find a safe place for us to live as soon as possible,’ Abdul explains. ‘It was very stressful and I just kept making appointments to see flats – sometimes they were not good, or I liked the flat, but the landlord wouldn’t accept me and my family as tenants.’ He couldn’t find any place that was affordable, but his wife – who doesn’t really speak or understand English – was miserable having no home. Ultimately, they rented an apartment in London that is still beyond their means.
Meanwhile, Abdul spent months making weekly phone calls to the council in charge of schools in his area of London, to enrol his three children. But it was not until September that his 16- and 14-year-old daughters and 8-year-old son started their schooling in their new country. They had been at home since their arrival in the UK, just studying English on their own. ‘I didn’t like my daughters especially to stay at home, because a lot of girls in Afghanistan aren’t allowed to go to school,’ Adbul says. ‘If we come here, then they must go attend a school,’ he continues. ‘They are very happy here and go to a school – they hope to go to university and have bright futures.’ His eldest daughter dreams of becoming a doctor.
Abdul loves working at his university in London, where he works on antibiotic drug discovery and says his research team is excellent. But he’s already worried about the future. ‘Me and my family, we are trying to adapt,’ Abdul states. But they are afraid that when their current visas expire, they could find themselves stateless again, trying to find work for Abdul so they won’t have to return to Afghanistan.
‘It will be a little difficult, but we will try to remain here,’ Abdul says. And in the meantime, he requests anonymity for this article in case they are forced to return to their home country. They could face persecution if they return and even if they stay in the UK Adbul says friends and family back in Afghanistan, including his elderly parents, could be at-risk if his name were to become public.
In the meantime, Abdul is urging rescue groups, charities and governments to take the time to analyse their applications from researchers and scholars seeking refugee status and assistance. ‘It’s very difficult for me to understand why a lot of organisations, the UN and embassies didn’t review my case,’ he states. ‘I am the first PhD organic chemistry from Afghanistan and now the first organic chemistry postdoc … few people have my experience in Afghanistan, but many others who were in much less dangerous situations have received visas or other assistance sooner,’ he says. Abdul hopes that sharing his story will help prompt changes that make things easier for other scholars and researchers in similar situations all over the world.
‘Every day I come home late from the university and try to focus on my project because I want to do the best job I can,’ Abdul tells Chemistry World. He also wants to serve as a good example so that other universities and groups like Cara will see the benefits of supporting researchers and scholars in need.
*His name has been changed to protect his identity
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