The refugee who came to Shropshire as a teen fleeing conflict and became a beacon of help to others
"We were looking for the safest place to go, to live our lives away from the war."
In 2017, teenage Syrian national Hasan Bajbouj moved to the UK with his mother in search of a new start. Six years on and he's making a life for himself in Shropshire, having just received a mayor's award for his work in the community.
At the time, his mother had been shot in the leg and was in need of urgent medical attention, so the pair had no choice but to seek help.
"We have Jordan as a neighbouring country," Hasan said, "and so volunteers helped us to take her there. They gave free help to her so she stayed at a hospital there for about three days.
"But they didn't have enough equipment so they said they would take her to Germany where she stayed for three months and 18 days, where she had surgery before sending her back to Jordan."
Then out of the blue one day, the organisation UNICEF got in touch with Hasan to say that an opportunity had arisen to move them elsewhere – to the rural county of Shropshire.
A New Life
Hasan, now 23, said: "I was scared when I first got here because of the language barrier – I couldn't make friends or get work – but we had to start a life and that's what we were going to do."
In the six years since, Hasan has been volunteering with Shropshire Supports Refugees and has worked with other refugee families – helping them to settle in to their new lives.
