Looking back in time, I cannot understand how I really ended up living here in South Africa. Maybe if I had stayed in Pakistan things would have been different for me. I would've been working there for government, maybe, and staying close to my family. But because I wasn't doing anything meaningful after school I had to find something to do.

My dream was to work as a soldier or a policeman or any other government job. I was a good sportsman back in high school, playing cricket and basketball, which means I wouldn't have struggled doing any of those jobs. I even had a bursary to complete my matric at the school where I was, simply because I was good in sports.

Our family was made up of my father, mother, three sisters and a brother in Punjab. Our parents could do anything to make us happy. My father died when I was about 16 so my mother was responsible for raising us after that. I can't say we were suffering, as such, because we never went to bed hungry. But you know a lot of people in my family, especially the extended family, always found a place to migrate to and live there. Some of them live in England and I have an aunt who lives with her family in the United States. So I was sure maybe one day I would join them.

Growing up I went to a boys’ school. When it comes to the schools, Muslims always prefer to have separate schools for boys and girls. I was a good student: my grades were usually high and sometimes I even got a prize in class.