In the asylum system, you wait and wait for so many delays. They make your life a misery. They leave people in limbo for years. I have been refused asylum. I have nowhere permanent to stay, I move from place to place. I don’t know when I last had a proper night’s sleep. I’ve been sleeping on sofas for years.
“You don’t have your own space to rest.”
How you feel when you sleep on a sofa is not the same as if you sleep in a bed. You have backache, you wake up exhausted, and you have to wake up early so other people can use the living room. You don’t have your own space to rest. I’ve also been in shelters, and they make you leave early in the morning, so you’re outside all day. In winter it’s a problem if you’re always outside. You need to stay warm.
“You might be waiting outside in the park when you need to take your medication.”
You can’t have proper rest if you’re destitute, and that’s a danger. If you are not resting, you get ill, and then you can’t get better because you have no home. I’m on a lot of medication, but you can’t take medication on time if you don’t have accommodation. You might be waiting outside in the park when you need to take your medication. And food is difficult. You can’t eat when you need to, and you can’t cook if you’re sleeping on someone’s sofa, because they complain it will make the bills more expensive, and you don’t have money to buy food, so it’s really hard to eat healthy food.
“The Home Office gets people’s data from the hospitals. I have known people who are too scared to get help when they’re sick… I was worried the appointment was a trap.”
And on top of all this, you are lacking basic medical support because of laws that stop you accessing NHS services. Sometimes, if you don’t have immigration status, you have to pay. And the Home Office gets people’s data from the hospitals. I have known people who are too scared to get help when they’re sick because they are afraid the hospital will pass their details to the Home Office and they’ll be deported. By the time they go to hospital, it’s too late. And I have been scared of this myself. There was a day when I received a letter from the GP about an appointment. I had also received a letter from immigration enforcement saying they were reviewing my case. I was worried the appointment was a trap.
“Access to healthcare is a basic human right.”
Another time, I almost didn’t go to my appointment, but the letter said it would cost the NHS if I didn’t. It was very scary. I thought enforcement officers would jump out at me. Fear just changed my system, it was so bad. And as well as worrying about being deported, you have to worry about how you’ll get your medication if you’re detained, because there isn’t proper medical care in detention centres. The government must allow people to access NHS treatment without looking at their status. They used to be able to, but now they can’t because of the hostile environment. But access to healthcare is a basic human right. The new government must end the hostile environment and fix this broken system.
Peter* is a refugee friend supported by JRS UK. After being refused asylum, he was made homeless and destitute. Peter is one of the people who contributed to our new report, Destitute and in Danger: people made homeless by the asylum system. We are grateful to him for sharing his experiences with us.
*Name has been changed to protect anonymity
