Fatin Altuhafi came from Iraq with her family in 1999. After enrolling on an Engineering MPhil at University College London she has this year been working towards her PhD.
To be honest, in our country we don't have the Social Security system. So when we came here and we were receiving the benefit … we didn't like it [laughs].It looks like we are receiving money, while we are not doing anything…and if we are qualified and able to work, so there is no point receiving money while we can do it. Although, it's still very difficult to get a job with your own qualification from your country and on experience.
So we felt it like a charity money which is coming and we didn't like it and we didn't want our child to grow up and think that my Daddy is not working, my Mother is not working and we have, we are getting money from the Social Security. So it is not a really nice thing that we would like our children to feel, and we, if we are able to work so it's better to get a job.
So, as soon as we could, I mean we asked Eileen for advice and we took English courses, I and my husband. And then my husband joined the South Bank University for an MSc degree in Civil Engineering, in Structural Engineering.
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