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Outlook: The medical textbook that inspired me to flee my homeland

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The medical textbook that inspired me to flee my homeland

20/05/2023 GMT

BBC World Service - Outlook, The medical textbook that inspired me to flee my homeland

Waheed Arian left war-torn Afghanistan to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor.

Waheed Arian was living in a refugee camp in Pakistan when he contracted TB. During his treatment, he decided he wanted to become a doctor, so aged 15 he left, alone, for the UK.

Dr Waheed Arian spent his early childhood in Kabul, Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan conflict. He and his family would often hide in cellars to escape the fighting and they were soon forced to flee to a refugee camp in Pakistan. He contracted tuberculosis and during his treatment was inspired by a doctor who gave him his first ever medical textbook and a stethoscope. Aged 15, he arrived alone in the UK and worked three jobs while studying. His hard work earned him a place to study medicine at Cambridge University, but his ambitions hung in the balance as the trauma and memories of his early life came back to haunt him. He's written a book about his life called In the Wars and his charity is called Arian Teleheal. (A longer version of this interview was first broadcast in November 2021.)

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

Presenter: Datshiane Navanayagam
Producer: Katy Takatsuki

(Photo: Dr Waheed Arian Credit: Courtesy of Waheed Arian)

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