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Nooralhaq Nasimi

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Nooralhaq Nasimi
MBE
Personal details
Born1967
Afghanistan
NationalityBritish, Afghan
SpouseMahboba Nasimi
ChildrenShabnam Nasimi, Rabia Nasimi, Darius Nasimi and Sheekeba Nasimi

Dr. Nooralhaq Nasimi MBE HonDSS(RHUL) (born 1967) is a former refugee who fled Afghanistan with his family, and who now campaigns for refugee rights in Europe and his former home country.[1][2] In 1999, immediately after arriving in the UK, [3] he founded the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association (ACAA), a charity dedicated to helping refugees in London to integrate.[4] In 2011 he founded the European Campaign for Human Rights in Afghanistan, an organisation dedicated to raising awareness of the plight of Afghans worldwide.[5] He currently serves as the director of the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association based in Hounslow, London.

Early life and education

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Nasimi was born in Ghorband a district of Parwan Province in the Northeast of Kabul, Afghanistan.[6] He then moved to Pul-e Khomri where he spent the rest of his childhood.[7] At the age of 18, Nasimi won a scholarship to Rostov-on-Don to study mechanical engineering. Following this, he returned to Afghanistan where he worked in a logistics firm as a mechanic.

Nasimi grew up witnessing the invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR, and aged 21 he was conscripted. He served 4 years as a soldier with the Afghan Army in Wardak Province, distributing food, water, newspapers and running workshops about equality for soldiers.  After completion of his military service, in 1989 he received a scholarship to study engineering in Volgograd Polytechnic Institute and then moved to Baku, Azerbaijan to study International Law. He concluded his studies in Odesa where he met his wife Mahboba who was also studying there.[6] On completion of his studies he was awarded both an MA in Law and PhD in Political Science from Odesa University.

After returning to Afghanistan in 1978, one year after Taliban takeover, his high level of education in conjunction with the spent spent studying in the former USSR made him and his family a target for Taliban persecution.[8] In 1999 Nasimi fled Afghanistan with his young family.[9] After a three month journey through Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, [10] he and his family crossed the English channel, spending 12 hours locked in the back of a refrigerated container before arriving in Dover and claiming asylum in the United Kingdom.[11]

Career

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Upon his arrival to the UK, Dr Nasimi studied English at Lewisham College in 2000 - he realised language was the first barrier for many refugees and migrants.[12] Inspired by the difficulties he faced integrating into British society and learning the English language, Nasimi established the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association in Lewisham in 2001.[13] The charity is dedicated to helping refugees integrate[14] and has since expanded to operate across London, offering services including language support, legal aid, a women's educational project[15] and supplementary education programmes for child refugees.[16] [17]The organisation also has an established ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) for Integration Programme, which runs across their offices and virtually. The ACAA has also partnered with UK Job Centres and colleges to assist those searching for employment.[18] Collaborating with the UK government on multiple occasions, other projects have included a home-office funded programme aiming to tackle extremism by providing workshops for members of the muslim community,[19] and a project in partnership with the Ministry of Justice to reduce reoffending rates by supporting vulnerable people recently released from prison.[20] With the return of the Taliban to Afghanistan in 2021 the ACAA became a frontline help point for refugees and asylum seekers arriving in the UK, its capacity growing hugely due to the situation, and the organisation also became a central contact point for British media in relation to the Afghan crisis.[21] Shortly following the crisis, ACAA served an important role in providing evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee enquiry and advising UK policy towards Afghanistan.[21]

In 2018 Nasimi accepted the Queens Award for Voluntary Service on behalf of the ACAA for their work supporting refugees in London[22][23] and was awarded the British Citizen Award for Volunteering and Charitable Giving in 2020.[24] He was also shortlisted for Charity Executive of the Year for the Third Sector Awards in 2024.[25]

Nasimi has been an active campaigner promoting the rights of Afghans in Afghanistan and campaigning for refugee rights around the world.[26] In 2013 Nasimi travelled to Afghanistan and launched the country's first two Citizens Advice Bureaus, which have since helped over 7,500 people with issues ranging from domestic violence to poverty and employment.[13][27] He has also supported refugees in migrant camps in Europe, lobbied politicians in the UK and at the EU[28] and in 2011 launched the European Campaign for Human Rights in Afghanistan (ECHRA).[5]The ECHRA has since held conferences in London,[29] Germany and Greece bringing together experts in the fields of migration and human rights to collaborate on solutions to the migrant crisis and ways to protect human rights in the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan[30][29]

Nasimi was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to refugees.[31] In July 2024, he was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Doctor of Laws by the Royal Holloway University of London.[32]

Personal Life

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His daughter, Shabnam Nasimi, is the former policy advisor to Minister for Afghan Resettlement Victoria Atkins MP and Minister for Refugees Richard Harrington. His daughter, Rabia Nasimi, currently works as Head of the ESM Research at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. His son Darius Nasimi served as the first British Afghan Conservative Candidate for Hanworth Village, London Borough of Hounslow. His youngest daughter, Sheekeba Nasimi graduated with a Bachelor’s of Law from the University of Law in 2025.

References

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  1. ^ Swinnerton, Lois (2017-11-23). "Hounslow refugee charity founder fled Taliban in fridge lorry". getwestlondon. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  2. ^ "Afghanistan's first Citizen's Advice Centres: A path to foreign aid success? | South Asia@LSE". 2016-11-24. Retrieved 2024-12-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ ACAA Annual Report. The Charity Commission (Report). 2017-06-19. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  4. ^ Iaccino, Ludovica (2017-06-19). "Meet the man who fled the Taliban and is now helping Afghan refugee women in London". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  5. ^ a b "European Campaign for Human Rights in Afghanistan - Idealist". www.idealist.org. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  6. ^ a b Khan, Rabina. "Escaping the Taliban". Shorthand Stories. Retrieved 2024-12-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ "From refugee to activist: An interview with Dr. Nooralhaq Nasimi". The Conflict Archives. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  8. ^ "473 million women won't be able to read this article". Newsweek. 8 March 2018.
  9. ^ "Refugee family opens new charity centre 20 years after arriving in UK in refrigerated lorry". Kingston Courrier. 2019-12-05. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  10. ^ "British Afghans reveal their fears for relatives back home as they help newly arrived refugees -". www.inews.co.uk. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  11. ^ Care, Adam (2017-10-24). "Story of girl smuggled into Dover in refrigerated lorry now at Cambridge Uni". mirror. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
  12. ^ Diggins, Alex (2020-02-21). "Refugee who came to the UK in a lorry wins British Citizen Award for Feltham charity". SW Londoner. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  13. ^ a b "We will always appreciate the support of the British people". www.refugeecouncil.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2018-07-10. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  14. ^ "Refugee Week: Three journeys towards a better life | Eastlondonlines". Eastlondonlines. 2018-06-22. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  15. ^ Magazine, Brown Girl (2017-12-06). "This is How Rabia Nasimi Escaped the Taliban Regime to Pursue her Studies at Cambridge University". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  16. ^ "Community Directory: Afghanistan and Central Asian Association| Brent Council". www.brent.gov.uk. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  17. ^ "Dr Nooralhaq Nasimi MBE awarded Honorary Doctorate for charity work with refugees in the United Kingdom". Royal Holloway University News. 2024-07-18. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  18. ^ ACAA Services 2023-24 Report. Afghanistan and Central Asian Association. Retrieved 2024-12-03
  19. ^ Iaccino, Ludovica (2017-06-19). "Meet the man who fled the Taliban and is now helping Afghan refugee women in London". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  20. ^ "ACAA Celebrates Launch Of Rehabilitation And Reintegration Project With The Ministry Of Justice". Afghanistan and Central Asian Association Blogs. 2024-11-04. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  21. ^ a b "Written Evidence Submission". 2021-10-29. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  22. ^ "Lewisham refugee charity receives Queen's Award for Voluntary Service | Eastlondonlines". Eastlondonlines. 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  23. ^ "The London Gazette, Queen's Award 2018". The Gazette. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  24. ^ Woode, David (17 January 2020). "British Citizen Awards: recognising the local heroes impacting the lives of those around them". inews.co.uk. i. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  25. ^ "Third Sector Awards shortlist announced". www.thirdsector.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
  26. ^ "The Role of Women in Extremism – Fempower Workshop at ACAA – Quilliam". www.quilliaminternational.com. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  27. ^ "Afghanistan's first Citizen's Advice Centres: A path to foreign aid success?". South Asia @ LSE. 2016-11-24. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  28. ^ "Lewisham Council to take in over 100 refugee families | Eastlondonlines". Eastlondonlines. 2018-06-22. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  29. ^ a b "Conference on Afghanistan future on 25th". www.pajhwok.com. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  30. ^ TheECHRA (2012-06-05), European Campaign for Human Rights in Afghanistan - Dr. Nooralhaq Nasimi, retrieved 2018-10-15
  31. ^ "No. 63918". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2022. p. N22.
  32. ^ "Dr Nooralhaq Nasimi MBE awarded Honorary Doctorate for charity work with refugees in the United Kingdom". www.royalholloway.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
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