An Afghanistani with no English.

Listening to the lunch time news I heard about an Afghanistan child travelling with a Pakistani family. It brought back strange memories. For over ten years I taught English as a second laguage in Rochdale. Most of the pupils were from Pakistan with a mixture of Euopean laguages thrown in but one child who was very much smaller than the rest was brought to school every day...He was it turned out not actually Pakistani...he was from Afghanistan! I tried several times to find out how he had been adopted by the family.....but their English was not up to a complicated explanation. I taught them for about three months when it was thought they could cope with English in a secondary modern school. They all went together and I never saw any of them again but I havnt forgotten the Afghan. He lived with the famiy he came in with and also prayed with them. They were all Muslim. He went off to big school where I heard he did well..and acted as an interpreter for the new boys. There were no girls in this group. I really dont know why but we thought it likely that girls did not go to school with the boys at this time. Last night on the news I saw the Afghan boy and it brought back the memories. I hope the child I taught is still in this country and doing well as a man ... but I am going back to about forty years ago I think. Many of the children I taught did go back but a few stayed on I was told. Watching all this now on the news has brought back things I had forgotten all about. I hope it all works out well for them finding life in a new culture. The original children managed it I am told.