The one with the refugee kid who learned English watching Friends
MEET Hassan Ibrahim – the young Iraqi who made a new life for himself in Scotland thanks to learning English ... from box-sets of Friends.
Ibrahim arrived in Scotland at the age of 14 after fleeing the dangers of Iraq with no knowledge of the country and only self-taught English thanks to the antics of Joey, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler, Monica and Rachel.
Five years on, he has achieved his dream and is off to university after passing exams with top marks.
His case was recently highlighted in a motion put forward in the Scottish Parliament, which congratulated him on his achievement in obtaining a university place and “perseverance in his desire to learn”, adding that his story is an “inspiration to others who have come to Scotland to seek refuge from oppression”.
Ibrahim, 19 and originally from Baghdad, is now studying pharmacy at the University of Strathclyde. He was just six years old when the Iraq war began in 2003, but can remember the fear of violence.
He said most of his childhood “wasn’t ever safe”. Even trying to get to school – just a five-minute walk from his home – was fraught with danger. I would have to take a minibus as there was a lot of kidnappings and bombs,” he said. “You had to live just day by day. For me, I couldn’t foresee a future for myself.”
Ibrahim’s father, a professor in chemical engineering, fled with his family to safety after – like many other academics in Iraq – being targeted with threats of violence. The family came to Glasgow in April 2011 after Ibrahim’s father secured a visa through a university research programme aimed at giving an opportunity to academics living in danger in their home countries.
Ibrahim began third year in school, where he says everyone was surprised by his American accent – picked up through watching episodes of Friends at home to learn English.
He achieved high grades in his Standard Grade exams but then faced uncertainty as his father’s visa had expired. The family had to apply for asylum and move from Yorkhill in the city’s west end to accommodation for asylum seekers in Castlemilk.
Ibrahim said: “It was quite a distance from Hillhead High School ... It was about an hour each way in the morning and night.”
Ibrahim went on to gain further exams – including top marks in Advanced Higher Maths.
However, his ambition to go onto university looked impossible, as asylum seekers have to pay the same fees as international students and are not entitled to grants or loans.
He found there was a scholarship available for asylum seekers at Strathclyde University, but was rejected last year as there wasn’t enough funding.
Undeterred he applied again this year and despite being initially turned down, was finally told in August the funding for the scholarship had become available.
He said: “As an asylum seeker it is pretty much a dream come true if you are a person who has always been looking forward to university. I can’t describe how happy I was to hear I had got into university – it was very overwhelming.”
Ibrahim and his family are still waiting for their asylum case to be decided, but he is able to stay in the country under the scholarship scheme. He said he wanted to tell his story to show other asylum seekers “there is still hope”.
James Dornan MSP, who put forward the motion in the Scottish Parliament congratulating Ibrahim, said: “Hassan is going to be an asset to Scottish life and I know will be an effective contributor.
“I’m delighted that he is now in further education and continues on his spectacular life journey overcoming the adversity, faced not only by him, but many asylum-seeking children.”
Strathclyde University said it supported a number of asylum-seeking students in recognition of the “immense academic potential with refugee communities and the contribution scholars can make to our city”.