What is a refugee and how can people really show support?

What does a refugee look like and how can people really support refugees? "My name is Dr Waheed, and I came from Afghanistan as a young boy to seek safety, with nothing and no one by my side." 

Kabul-born Dr Waheed Arian arrived in Manchester aged 15, after growing up in the Soviet-Afghan conflict. Despite only having four years of schooling back home, Dr Arian went on to achieve five A grades at A-Level in the UK. 

He then graduated from Cambridge University, Imperial School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School – all while working to support his family back in Kabul, Afghanistan. Arian has also won a number of awards for his work, including the UN Stop TB Global Ambassador and the UNESCO Global Hero Award. 

Dr. Waheed Arian’s autobiography, In the Wars, was published by Penguin in June 2021 with testimonials for the book being provided by Stephen Fry, Khaled Hosseini, John Simpson and Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.