Arriving in the UK

When I stood in the passport queue at Gatwick, I was terrified. I slipped under the barrier, tapped a Border Control guard on the shoulder, and said, “I am here to claim asylum. I can’t return.” I waited for an hour while the officer took my passport, and eventually I was led to a small interrogation room upstairs. As we walked, I overheard the two men escorting me saying, “We need to be clever about this one.” When they searched my luggage they threw everything around, then told me to pick it all up and repack it.

Because I had arrived in the UK with a small amount of savings from working, I wasn’t eligible for financial support. I travelled to Croydon, where the Home Office was, and stayed in a B&B for a week. That first week was frightening – I didn’t know what I was supposed to do beyond waiting, and I worried constantly about whether I would receive help, or how long my little money needed to last. I barely ate.

The Waiting Period

I had read a lot about the asylum system, but nothing prepared me for its reality. The government says a claim takes 3–6 months, but that is far from true. It took me exactly one year to be granted asylum and even that is considered unusually fast. Many people wait two years or more.

I constantly chased the Home Office and even contacted three MPs to advocate for me. Eventually, I received a phone call offering me accommodation at an asylum hotel in Chiswick, where I stayed for just under a year.

Those first two weeks were the hardest. I needed something to do! I couldn’t sit alone in that room all day. I connected with West London Welcome, a refugee centre, where I received legal advice and began volunteering every Tuesday. Through them I was introduced to Bollo Brook Youth Centre. Since I wasn’t allowed to work, I threw myself into volunteering, and this is where I discovered my passion for acting, film, and theatre.

That became my life for a year. I volunteered on projects at Bollo Brook, and the minute I received my refugee status, they found me my first job on a film set. Volunteering was rewarding, but the year itself felt like living in limbo – powerless, and not in control of my own life.

Youth Community Home

When my asylum status came through, I was shocked. I’d been convinced my claim would be refused and I’d need to win an appeal in court. Perhaps I was being pessimistic, but when I opened the letter and saw that I had been granted asylum, I couldn’t believe it. The letter gave me 30 days to leave the hotel and find somewhere to live.

I told my friends and began searching for housing, but without the right to work I had no money for rent. I tried applying for council accommodation, and a week later I was told a space had opened at the Youth Community Home.

S. visited the refugee centre while I was volunteering to meet me, and after an interview I was offered a place.Moving into YCH felt like a weight had lifted. I finally had security, a roof over my head and no fear of suddenly being forced out. Living with other young people was a learning experience! Even though some were also asylum seekers, their stories were completely different from mine. Everyone was friendly and easy to talk to.

One memory that stays with me is from my first week at YCH. I had just gotten my first UK job, working at Wyndham’s Theatre. When I told J., she organised a spontaneous celebration that same day. I was so touched. They barely knew me, yet they celebrated my achievement as if I had been there for months.

YCH gave me the time and space to figure out my life. Many people find housing, but then have to take the first job they can just to afford rent, even if it’s not what they love. Because of YCH, I had the freedom to pursue something I was passionate about and to discover what I actually wanted to do with my future. The low rent also allowed me to save enough to pay the deposit on the place I live in now.

Leaving Youth Community Home

I knew it was the right time to leave YCH. I think I had outgrown it. I no longer needed the support in the same way, and I felt that someone else needed that place more than I did.

I started university and now work mainly as a freelance Theatre Technician around my study schedule. I’m two years into my degree now and loving it.

And I will always return to visit YCH … you won’t be able to stop me!