I am writing to tell you something about life as an asylum seeker, living between life and death.
Some people may ask: “Where are you from?” “Why did you leave your country?” “What made you decide to live here?” Asylum seekers are victims who have to leave their home countries for reasons of war, civil war, racism, politics, religion, nationality, human rights or economic problems.
An asylum seeker may have left their children, mother, father, sister, brother and loved ones; their country and their job. They leave everything and leave their lives to fate. The tears on his cheek remind him every single day that he is a foreigner.
For some, fate takes over and many don’t have a safe journey or witness the democracy of a safe country. For an asylum seeker in this position, his children, mother, father, sister, brother and loved ones are still waiting to hear from him. They don’t know what happened to him. They don’t know if he is alive or dead. Many people’s stories are like that. I cannot write everybody’s story in this article.
Others seek asylum with the Home Office, explaining their bad situation and history. If the Home Office believes him, there is a good chance he will get a positive decision and become a refugee. If not, he is in big trouble.
After the first refusal he can go to the immigration judgement court. If refused again, his National Asylum Support Service (NASS) benefits will be stopped and he will lose his accommodation. Homeless and destitute, where will he live without support and without permission to work?
In my opinion the Home Office have a responsibility when someone gets a refusal. The asylum seeker is asked by the Home Office to return voluntarily to the very place he fears or face destitution. Homeless, and with no income to support himself, the asylum seeker may feel he has little choice but to work illegally, in which case, the employer probably pays well below the minimum wage.
I leave you the reader to decide who is at fault who has made the wrong decision and who is doing the wrong thing.