Afghan who came to UK on small boat says he ‘never felt more welcome’ despite riots

A young Afghan refugee who earned a university scholarship after fleeing the Taliban three years ago and arriving in the UK on a small boat has “never felt more welcome” despite riots targeting asylum hotels.

Sam Pordale, 24, was born in Nimruz Province in south Afghanistan, where his family members worked closely with the government, making his family a target for the Taliban.

Following the fall of the capital Kabul on August 15 2021, Sam embarked on a “horrendous” nine-month journey to the UK, enduring “humiliation” and abuse from people smugglers as he travelled through Iran, Turkey, Italy and France before arriving on a small boat in April 2022.

Arriving in the UK, the Government placed Sam in a hotel for asylum seekers in the West Midlands before he found support with the British Red Cross and connected with the University of Warwick, where he was eventually accepted on a scholarship as a politics and international studies student.

He has since become an advocate for the education of other asylum seekers, earning him an invite to undertake an internship at the Tony Blair Institute and meet with the former prime minister, as well as recognition on The Big Issue’s 100 Changemakers of 2024 List.

Reflecting on the dramatic changes to his life over the last three years, Sam told PA Real Life: “I never thought I would be here, it was never part of the plan, it feels like a dream.

“Once I got to university, everything was opened up for me – it was amazing how it all happened in less than a year.”

Of the recent riots in the UK, where hotels housing asylum seekers were targeted, Sam said he initially did not wish to go out but added his feelings changed once he saw others coming out in support of refugees through counter demonstrations and anti-fascist protests.

“In the beginning, I had the same feelings as I had in Afghanistan, like you’re scared to go out, you’re not allowed to go out,” he said.

“I felt as though I’m not accepted here in the UK but seeing people going out to protect the hotels, for me, that was amazing to see.

“I’ve never felt more welcome once I saw people standing up for people they don’t know.

“With the counter demonstrations, it felt as though I’m part of this and I am accepted here, regardless of who I am and who I used to be before.”

Reflecting on his journey to the UK, Sam recalled being in Kabul International Airport three years ago in his attempt to flee the country following the Taliban takeover, saying it was “a mess”.

“When I got to the airport, it was a mess, and the Taliban were everywhere,” Sam said.

“They were specifically looking for people working within the government.”

Fearing he would be caught, Sam “ran away” from the airport, where he took a car away from the area.

Sam said he returned to Nimruz Province where someone he knew contacted a people smuggler, who put him in the luggage hold of a minivan late one night to cross the border to Iran.

After making the three-day journey to reach Turkey, Sam’s permit to remain in the country was set to expire so he sought passage by another people smuggler to Europe.

Following one “failed attempt” at leaving Turkey in January 2022, where he was caught at the border of Bulgaria and sent back, Sam said he managed to find a route to Italy via a six-day boat ride from Istanbul across the Mediterranean Sea.

“We were all sitting pressed against each other, we couldn’t pull our heads up because there was someone sitting there, it was horrendous,” he said.

Sam said the food on the boat was all gone by the third day and once it neared Italy it started sinking and those onboard had to be rescued by the coastguard.

After being quarantined for seven days due to Covid-19, Sam said he was sent to a refugee camp in Palermo.

He said the camp in Sicily was a “scary place” as he felt as though the people there “hated refugees” so as an English speaker he decided to head for the UK.

Sam bought a ticket to travel via train from Palermo to Milan, before taking a mixture of buses and trains to get to France, but said when he reached Dunkirk, “that was when the real humiliation came”.

“I had to sleep outside and every night for 10 days, we would try to get on a boat but we would fail,” he said.

“The people smugglers would beat everyone with a stick and at that time, I had lost a lot of weight because I didn’t have any food – I had to beg for food.”

Sam said he eventually managed to cross the English Channel in a small boat before being processed and sent to a hotel for asylum seekers in the West Midlands.

He reached out to the British Red Cross for support where he was given clothes, shoes and toiletries and he was soon scouted for a volunteer job with the organisation as he spoke English well.

“The hotel felt like a prison, that’s why I used to walk for two hours and 40 minutes each way to the Red Cross to volunteer – just to get out of the hotel,” he said.

At the time, Sam said a professor at the University of Warwick was doing research into the issues asylum seekers face, with his manager at the Red Cross putting his name down to be interviewed.

“If he hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be where I am now,” Sam said.

At the time, Sam was transferred to another part of the UK to temporary accommodation, where he connected with a charity called Talent Tap, who focus on internships and work experience.

Through this, Sam was able to undertake an internship at the Tony Blair Institute, where he was able to meet Sir Tony – which he said was “something out of a dream”.

With further support from an organisation called Refugee Education UK, Sam was given a chance to apply for a place at the University of Warwick – having to write an essay and undertake an interview.

At the time, he struggled to access WiFi and a laptop, with a charity called Screen Share UK providing him with support.

He was able to secure a place to study a three-year course for politics and international studies, starting in September 2023, aiming to focus on international development in the future.

“It just shows that if there is support available, asylum seekers have the same chance as everyone else, they can do the same thing as everyone else,” he said.

Sam volunteers with different charities to advocate for refugees and he was named on The Big Issue’s 100 Changemakers of 2024 List.

“One of the amazing things here in the UK, the charities that supported me, for example Refugee Education UK, I’m now part of their youth advocacy groups to advocate for access to education,” he said.

Sam also volunteers with Warwick Student Action for Refugees, where he is able to teach English to asylum seekers as well as working with other universities and organisations to create open days for refugees.

“When I went to (go) back as a teacher to the same hotel where I stayed as an asylum seeker, they were amazed to see me and when I told them my story, they were inspired.

“Some even applied to universities and a few managed to get a place.”

Sam added: “I think everyone deserves a second chance, what really is important is that everyone has a different life story, everyone has been through a lot.

“No one wants to be a refugee, I was ashamed of being a refugee when I came here to the UK, but it’s not something people are born with, this is a condition people are forced into.

“What we can do is try to support them to go onto the next part of their lives.”