Ava’s Story
Ava, an asylum seeker, had close brushes with Isis not once, but several times. She narrowly escaped death, violence, sexual abuse, but many friends and family members weren’t so lucky. She lost a beloved mother when Isis planted a bomb in her dressing gown. Ava was nine months pregnant at the time and planning to bring the baby to meet her mother a few days later. Two grandparents and many friends and colleagues were killed in the Syrian civil war.
In Ava’s words: “We never forget the pain and we are still going through it, since we have been traumatised by it.”
Like many of our members, Ava carries terror in her heart. The Cotton Tree is working on her claim for leave to remain, as well as providing support that she and her family need as protection against despair. Waiting for the Home Office brings despair. Poverty and bad diet bring despair. Social isolation and living in a hotel room with two bright under-fives bring despair.
So does the contempt of people who regard the family as scroungers – some of the hotel staff, for example. Ava and her husband have skills and expertise that the UK urgently needs. Ava is a pharmacist, and her husband is a GP and consultant in internal medicine.
They hate living at the UK taxpayers’ expense. When we offered them food vouchers to help feed their kids, Ava’s eyes filled with tears.
She said: “We’ve always been proud of our independence. We worked hard to achieve it, studying by candlelight in a war zone, living on canned meat because there was nothing else to eat, walking two kilometres to fetch fresh water. We are grateful for the vouchers, but there’s a crisis in the NHS. Why won’t the government let us work?”
We couldn’t answer Ava’s question. Can you?
There are several ways to help Ava and others like her:
Donate
Join our Friends of the Cotton Tree scheme, where we fight for immigration justice
Post your views on social media
Help us to run a campaign
Write to your GP
