Refugee student thrives at UK’s Eton
LIBYAN-BORN MUSTAFA WAS PLUCKED FROM AMONG MILLIONS OF REFUGEE CHILDREN DUE TO HIS ACADEMIC ABILITY
Wearing a white tie and coat tails, Ammar Mustafa sits near the manicured grounds of Britain’s most prestigious school, a world away from the Palestinian refugee camps he grew up in Syria and Lebanon.
Shy and softly spoken, Mustafa, 18, was plucked from among millions of refugee children to attend Britain’s exclusive Eton College, alma mater of prime ministers, business leaders and members of the royal family.
“It was a life-changing opportunity,” said Mustafa, who was offered a scholarship by a charity due to his outstanding academic ability.
He insists it wasn’t all bad in Syria’s Yarmouk camp, which his family fled in 2012 before it became infamous for its skeletal children and apocalyptic landscape.
Just south of central Damascus, the camp was set up in the 1950s for Palestinian refugees, but in recent years it has been brutalised and besieged in a pitiless war between anti-government forces and the Syrian military.
Born in Libya, Mustafa and his family moved to the densely packed district in 1999 so that his father could take up a job as an electrician.
Not so bad
“In fact it was fun to live in Yarmouk. When we say camp, that doesn’t mean tents and anything like that,” he said, recalling a happy childhood there.
“Something that was really good about being in Yarmouk is that it was really safe so you could go to shops at midnight.”
Days before bombs began to rain down on Yarmouk three years ago, Mustafa’s family fled to Lebanon, joining millions of other refugees in the tiny country. That was where he was spotted by Eton physics teacher Peter Mann, who for the last two years has travelled to Lebanon in December to interview children to find those gifted enough to study at his school.
“We are usually happy with about four of the 40” pre-selected, Mann said.
“Ammar turned out to be very shy, quiet but with outstanding
Adapted to new life
“At first I was really nervous about it... but I have always wanted to come to Europe and see the differences in culture, in languages and in the education system,” Mustafa said.
“My parents were really happy and proud about this but also sad because I had to leave them. It was the first time I had to leave my family.” Mustafa needn’t have worried.
“I have never heard any other boys comment on him which is a sign he’s doing really well. His English improved so quickly and so well,” Mann said.
He tried new sports, including rowing, squash, and tennis, and took up photography.
He also adapted to Western methods of teaching, far removed from the rote learning he was used to.
“In Lebanon and Syria we used to memorise what we were being taught, while here in the UK we understand what we are being taught,” Mustafa said.
Eton College Access Adviser Francesca Moultrie said Mustafa settled in quickly — despite missing his mother’s cooking — and that as well as benefitting from Eton, he had also been a credit to the college.
“They really do broaden the outlook of the boys they are sharing life with,” she said.
Now in his final year, Mustafa is applying to some of the top British and US universities.
“After my graduation, I would like to stay in Europe or America to work and set myself up,” Mustafa said.
“But my long term goal is to go back to Lebanon and help my community as a civil engineer.”
That will please Cogito founder Ali Erfan, an Iranian-born, British-educated businessman who hopes to extend the twoyear old scholarship programme to 100 boys and girls every year.
“If we are successful, in 20 years, we’ll have 2,000 boys and girls who can hopefully play a major role eventually in the revival of the Middle East.”