Open Britain: Portrait of a Diverse Nation

Open Britain: Portrait of a Diverse Nation This is a personal photographic project with one goal, to remind people of the value of inclusivity and open borders.

It is a celebration of multicultural Britain and the give and take that serves our country so well.

Aziz grew up in Morocco as one of seven siblings. His father was the director of a school, while his mother was a homema...
16/07/2026

Aziz grew up in Morocco as one of seven siblings. His father was the director of a school, while his mother was a homemaker. After the passing of his father’s first wife, his father remarried and went on to have Aziz and his siblings, creating a large and close-knit blended family.

He studied hotel management and linguistics at university, developing a passion for languages and communication. Aziz speaks English, Spanish, French, and Arabic.

After graduating, Aziz aspired to build a career in hotel management. Seeking opportunities abroad. He came to the UK through a Ryanair sponsorship programme. After a year in the UK, he decided to further his career prospects and successfully applied for an internship with Emirates in Morocco.

It was at this point that Aziz’s life took an unexpected and devastating turn. Upon attempting to return to Morocco, he was refused re-entry on political grounds. During his time at university, he had written several political articles for the university magazine and these activities ultimately led to him being denied entry to his own country. Unable to return home, he was forced to seek asylum in the UK.

Aziz’s actions as a student completely disrupted the future he had planned for himself. His ambitions, career path and family life were suddenly taken away, forcing him to start again from scratch. He has found work in a gym, saved what he can and has slowly begun rebuilding his life.

Aziz hopes one day to move to Spain, where he has family, but remains deeply grateful to the UK for the protection it has provided. Reflecting on his journey, Aziz acknowledges the loss of the life he had imagined with his family in Morocco. Despite this, he remains determined to build a fulfilling future, contribute positively to his community and give back to the country that offered him sanctuary when he needed it most.

Sana’s parents fled Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, seeking safety first in Pakistan before eventually being off...
09/07/2026

Sana’s parents fled Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, seeking safety first in Pakistan before eventually being offered sanctuary in the United Kingdom.

Although Sana was born in the UK, she did not have settled status and her connection to her homeland remained strong. In 2012, she moved to Afghanistan to marry and begin a new chapter of her life. Adapting to life in Afghanistan was challenging at first, but she gradually settled into her new community. She learned Dari and built a successful career working in human resources for both government institutions and non-governmental organisations. Together with her husband, she raised three children and created a life she loved.

Everything changed in August 2021 when the Afghan government fell to the Taliban. Sana and her family were evacuated on one of the last flights out of the country. The departure was sudden, forcing them to leave behind their home, careers, possessions and the apartment they had recently furnished, having thought it would be their long-term future.

Arriving in the UK brought both relief and challenges. For the first time in years, Sana no longer had to live with the constant threat of explosions and attacks, yet her future remained uncertain. Determined to rebuild her life, she enrolled her children in school immediately and began working as an interpreter in the hotel where newly arrived Afghan families were being housed. Fluent in English, Dari and Pashto, she helped others navigate life in an alien country.

Today, Sana works as a Refugee Resettlement Support Worker, supporting families who have arrived in the UK following the fall of Afghanistan’s government. Drawing on both her professional experience and her own journey, she helps people overcome the challenges of starting again in a new country.

Having experienced displacement both as the child of refugees and as a refugee herself, Sana understands the importance of practical support, compassion and community. She remains grateful for the opportunities she has been given and proud to help others build safe and hopeful futures for their families.


Amal was born in Dubai to Sudanese parents. One of four children, she spent her early years in the UAE but regularly vis...
02/07/2026

Amal was born in Dubai to Sudanese parents. One of four children, she spent her early years in the UAE but regularly visited Sudan, where she developed a deep connection to the country and its people. Believing she could make a meaningful contribution through her education and work, she made the decision to move there permanently at the age of sixteen.

Amal completed her studies and built a life in Sudan that she loved. At university, she met people from across Sudan broadening her understanding of the country’s rich diversity. She went on to work with the British Embassy and European Union programmes in Sudan, managing projects focused on economic and private sector development alongside food security and humanitarian development.

In Ramadan of 2023, while living with her family in Khartoum, Amal woke to the sound of explosions and fighter jets overhead. At first, the family hoped the violence would be short-lived, but soon armed militias appeared in the streets around their home. The beginnings of the conflict were unfolding less than five minutes away from her home. After a week of escalating violence, their house was struck by a missile. Fortunately, everyone avoided injury.

With aid workers and employees of international organisations increasingly at risk, the family knew they had to leave. Amal drove five relatives through militia-controlled areas with only a small bag each, leaving behind their home and possessions. With Khartoum Airport closed, they travelled to Omdurman and secured places on a bus heading north to Egypt.

After several months in Cairo recovering from the trauma of their escape, Amal travelled to the United Kingdom using a visitor visa obtained previously for work. In 2024, she was granted political asylum.

Today, she works at the University of Reading while her family remains scattered across the globe. Like millions of Sudanese people displaced by conflict, they share one hope: that one day they will be able to return home.

Adil grew up with two sisters in Darfur, Sudan, where his parents worked as farmers. Although global attention has focus...
25/06/2026

Adil grew up with two sisters in Darfur, Sudan, where his parents worked as farmers. Although global attention has focused on Sudan more recently, conflict has shaped his entire life.

“War has been going on for over 20 years,” he says. “The world only seemed to wake up when things became worse in 2023, but for us this has been reality for decades.”

Growing up in Darfur meant violence, displacement and fear. Adil describes surviving “a living nightmare”, witnessing atrocities difficult to comprehend. Despite this, he remained focused on his education and was studying engineering at university when the war escalated again.

As armed groups sought to recruit young men, Adil faced an impossible choice: join the fighting or risk being killed. His father urged him to leave, believing he was the family’s best hope for the future.

Today, his parents and sisters remain in Darfur. With communications devastated and internet access limited, contact is rare. “I think about them every hour. They are my only family.”

Adil’s journey to safety was long and dangerous. He travelled by land and sea, on foot and in lorries. His first attempt through Libya ended in what he calls “hell”. He then travelled via South Sudan, Turkey, Greece and France before reaching the United Kingdom in 2025. The journey took a year.

Arriving in the UK felt “like being born again. For the first time, I could open my eyes and live in peace. I have a future now.”

Starting over was not easy. He arrived without a network, in a new country with a new language and culture. He had begun learning English in Sudan and has continued building his skills while working in a warehouse.

He also volunteers supporting fellow asylum seekers and refugees, drawing on his own experience.

“When the war is over, Sudan will need rebuilding.” and Adil will return.

His story is a reminder of the human cost of conflict, and of the difference welcome, compassion and community can make in helping someone begin again.

Zahra and Fatemeh’s parents fled Afghanistan during decades of conflict and instability, seeking safety across the borde...
21/06/2026

Zahra and Fatemeh’s parents fled Afghanistan during decades of conflict and instability, seeking safety across the border in Iran. It was there that Zahra and Fatemeh were born and raised. Although Iran became the only home they had ever known, life as Afghan refugees had constant challenges. Without full legal status, many opportunities remained out of reach.

Growing up, both sisters faced barriers to education, employment and everyday life. Zahra dreamed of continuing her studies but instead settled for work. Despite the difficulties Afghan women face accessing employment she became an office assistant for a private company,

When they were contacted by the United Nations and accepted onto the UK’s Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), they believed a new chapter was finally beginning. Yet the resettlement process was long, slow and emotionally exhausting,

When the day finally came to leave, it brought both relief and heartbreak. Only three members of the family were able to travel to the United Kingdom. Zahra and Fatemeh’s brothers remained behind in Iran.
“The journey to keep us safe ended up separating us from half of our family.”

Arriving in the UK was overwhelming. They spoke very little English and knew almost nothing about the culture, systems or way of life. Zahra describes those first months as feeling like an “empty library”, where every book on the shelves had to be found and placed one by one.

Determined to build a future, the sisters began volunteering in the kitchen at the transitional hotel where they were first housed. Their hard work and commitment soon led to paid employment, and today they continue to work there while helping others who are beginning their own journeys in the UK.

Life is still a work in progress. Zahra hopes to continue improving her English to pursue further study in the future. Together, the sisters continue to rebuild their lives, one step at a time.

“We are still building our new life brick by brick,” Zahra says “but we are no longer the lost people who first arrived. We are resilient, unbreakable and full of hope.”

Tomson Chauke was born in 1973 in Chiredzi, in Zimbabwe’s Lowveld near the Mozambique border.Growing up in Hippo Valley,...
20/06/2026

Tomson Chauke was born in 1973 in Chiredzi, in Zimbabwe’s Lowveld near the Mozambique border.

Growing up in Hippo Valley, a sugar estate town in southern Zimbabwe, he was one of six children raised by hardworking parents during the final years of colonial rule. His mother worked as a maid for white families. His father supervised workers in the sugar cane fields. He remembers a childhood full of fishing, hunting and music. “At the time I thought we were deprived. But when you grow up, you realise it was the best life you could have had.”

Inspired by his older brother, who built makeshift guitars at home, Tomson became fascinated by instruments and performance. He spent hours watching musicians rehearse, helping bands set up equipment and teaching himself rhythm by playing along.

One day, when a touring band’s drummer fell ill, Tomson stepped forward and offered to help. That opportunity launched a career that would take him across southern Africa and eventually to Britain.
He toured with some of Zimbabwe’s bands, performing across Zimbabwe, South Africa and Europe. But as Zimbabwe’s crisis worsened in the 2000s, life became increasingly difficult.

“I just wanted to make people happy through music. I didn’t want politics to define me.”

In 2003, Tomson moved to the UK to build future. Like many new arrivals, he took work he could find — care work, construction, supermarkets, furniture installation — while trying to rebuild his life from scratch. But music remained at the centre of everything. In Reading, he founded Limpopo Groove, a multicultural band bringing together musicians from different backgrounds through Zimbabwean rhythms, reggae, jazz and global sounds.

Today through the organisation ‘World Groove’, Tomson also runs music workshops in schools and community groups, works creatively with autistic young people, and founded ‘Sanctuary Strikers’ — a football club supporting refugees and asylum seekers through sport, friendship and belonging.

Arriving with little more than rhythm and resilience, Tomson soon discovered how music and sport can create belonging for himself and others.

Cho Cho was born in 1960s in Burma (now Myanmar), in a rural village where her parents were farmers. Growing up in an ag...
19/06/2026

Cho Cho was born in 1960s in Burma (now Myanmar), in a rural village where her parents were farmers. Growing up in an agricultural community where family, hard work and resilience shaped life.

During the political unrest in the late 80s, Cho Cho became involved in the pro-democracy student movement. Like many who called for greater freedom and reform, she experienced the risks of opposing military rule.

For much of her adult life, Cho Cho dedicated herself to her family. While her husband worked as a chemical engineer, she raised their three children. Education was always important, and her three children have careers as a chemist, engineer, and electrician. Like many families from Myanmar, they are now spread across the globe

In 2020, Cho Cho travelled to the UK to visit family. Shortly after her arrival COVID-19 pandemic halted international travel and she was unable to return home.

Then, in February 2021, Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup, overthrowing the elected government and triggering unrest. Faced with returning to a country under military rule, Cho Cho made the painful decision to remain in the UK. Given her pro-democracy activism, she feared returning home.

Cho Cho continues to support democracy in Myanmar from afar. Alongside members of the Burmese community in UK, she takes part in peaceful protests and campaigns to raise awareness.

The years since leaving Myanmar have brought profound personal loss. Within a single year, Cho Cho lost her husband, mother and brother. Being separated from her family made these losses especially difficult.

Cho Cho has built a new life in the UK. She works supporting children with autism, accompanying them on school transport and helping ensure they travel safely day.

She never expected to settle so far from home and remains committed to supporting her community in the UK & Myanmar.

Radwan was born in Darfur, Sudan and is one of four siblings. His mother was a homemaker and his father ran a small shop...
18/06/2026

Radwan was born in Darfur, Sudan and is one of four siblings. His mother was a homemaker and his father ran a small shop, supporting the family and helping to provide educational opportunities for his children.
After finishing school, Radwan enrolled at university to study Law. He completed two years of his degree before conflict in Sudan disrupted his education. As violence escalated across the country, universities and public institutions closed, preventing many students from continuing their studies.

In 2024, the situation in Darfur became increasingly dangerous. Armed groups attempted to recruit Radwan to join the fighting. Faced with the prospect of being drawn into the conflict and concerned for his safety, he made the decision to leave Sudan and seek protection elsewhere.

Radwan arrived in the United Kingdom with few possessions and into very unfamiliar circumstances. He received support from Refugee Support Group helping him to access essential provisions and legal advice while he navigated the asylum process and adapted to life in a new country.

Although his legal studies could not be transferred, Radwan remained committed to continuing his education. He began studying English and preparing for further study in the UK. In September, he will start a new course in Reading, taking the next step towards rebuilding the future that conflict interrupted.

Reflecting on his experience in Britain, Radwan speaks about the ‘peace, security, solidarity, justice and equality’ he has found since arriving. He also acknowledges experiencing racism and discrimination, but says it hasn’t been much and reasons that you find it everywhere.

Today, Radwan remains focused on education and building a stable future. While war forced him to leave behind his home, family and studies, he continues to work towards new opportunities and the career he once hoped to pursue.

His story reflects the experiences of many young people whose education and ambitions are disrupted by conflict and the determination required to begin again.

Ganna is from Kyiv, she arrived in the UK with her mother and son three years ago after Russia’s invasion forced them to...
17/06/2026

Ganna is from Kyiv, she arrived in the UK with her mother and son three years ago after Russia’s invasion forced them to flee their home.

Back in Ukraine, Ganna and her husband shared both a life and a career. Together they worked as choreographers and set designers, creating performances and artistic projects. They had built a life centred around creativity, culture and family but the war changed that.

When Ganna left Ukraine, her husband stayed behind to care for his elderly disabled parents. The separation has been one of the most difficult parts of her journey. Although they remain in regular contact, he continues to live with nightly air raid sirens, bombings and the uncertainty that has become part of everyday life.

Ganna settled in Reading with her mother and son. The transition was particularly difficult for her son. Forced to leave his friends, his studies and his father behind, he struggled with his mental health as he adjusted to life here. Constant concern for loved ones and the news emerging from Ukraine weighed heavily on him. Determined to help her son and others facing similar challenges, Ganna channelled her creativity into supporting wellbeing through the arts. She established a social enterprise centred on art therapy, helping people express themselves, build confidence and connect with others through creativity.

At the same time, she rebuilt her own career by founding Balamuty, a Ukrainian dance troupe based in Reading. Through dance, Ganna celebrates Ukrainian culture while bringing communities together. Balamuty has become a family project, with Ganna’s mother, now in her seventies, making many of the costumes worn by the dancers.

Through dance, art therapy and community, Ganna is helping others find resilience, connection and hope. Her son is now studying sports therapy at university, and together the family continues to build a new life while holding on to the culture, creativity and loved ones that remain at the heart of who they are.

Abadi was born in 1991 and grew up between Yemen and Saudi Arabia in a large family of nine siblings. His early life mov...
16/06/2026

Abadi was born in 1991 and grew up between Yemen and Saudi Arabia in a large family of nine siblings.

His early life moved between both countries, with schooling in Yemen up to primary level before returning to Saudi Arabia.

For many Yemeni families in Saudi Arabia, life is shaped by restrictive residency systems, rising sponsorship costs and limited access to legal work. Changing rules increased fees to maintain residency, while low-skilled work became harder to access, leaving families under constant financial pressure and fear of detention or forced departure.

Abadi left school at 14 to support his family. He worked long hours in ticketing and event roles, often from afternoon into late evening, while trying to keep up with education he could no longer afford. He gained experience in sales, marketing and administration across several companies, building a working life through necessity rather than qualifications or desire.

As conditions tightened there was limited legal work and too much visibility would most likely mean being deported to war torn Yemen. Leaving to find work elsewhere became the only viable option.

His journey to safety was long and dangerous. He experienced one failed departure and two perilous overcrowded sea journeys. The details of which were difficult for Abadi to talk about and included loss of lives.
Abadi travelled across Europe and eventually to the United Kingdom, where he sought asylum. He spent several years in the system before being granted refugee status in 2024.

During that time, he supported others, volunteering in refugee communities, offering translation, guidance and help to people navigating asylum processes.

Today, Abadi works as a Refugee Integration Coordinator helping arrivals access support, learn English and rebuild their lives in the UK.

He describes the UK as a safe place of dignity where he has rebuilt his life but Yemen remains his first home and he still supports his family there.

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