‘EMPOWER US’ – REFUGEES IN WALES TELL THEIR STORIES
Three immigrants seeking sanctuary in Wales took their stories to the Senedd to raise awareness of refugees’ difficulties. Ruth Mosalski reports
ADOCTOR who fled war to settle in Wales says immigration rules are preventing him from working here.
Dr Hermann Thierry Grah, 38, fled the Ivory Coast in 2011 during the war that erupted after the 2010 presidential election.
As a member of the presidential medical team, Dr Grah and his family were persecuted by the new regime.
His house was ransacked, his wife and children tortured.
He fled and first found a new home in London, where he tried to find ways to return to medicine.
He found a scheme run by the Wales Deanery, but wasn’t eligible for the Wales Asylum Seeker and Refugee Doctors, as he didn’t live in Wales.
He was desperate to get back to work as “medicine is my life”, and by chance was later told he would be moved to Newport.
Since coming to Wales he has sat and passed all the required exams and is now qualified to practise in the UK but he is unable to work because he is an asylum-seeker and doesn’t have the right to work.
“I am ready to treat patients in Wales’ hospitals but I haven’t got the right to do so. I am ready to help ease the pressure on the Welsh NHS, but I’m still an asylum-seeker with the right to do nothing,” said Dr Grah.
“For me, it’s like being in a prison in my mind because I can’t do my job.
“When you decide to go into medicine it’s like you decide to give your life to other people. Now I can’t practise so I have been left feeling like I’m worth nothing.”
Dr Grah lives in Newport with his pregnant wife and son.
“I have had great support from Wales. That has allowed me to really integrate in the community and feel part of it”.
He was sharing his experiences as part of an event at the Senedd to highlight the steps needed to make Wales a Nation of Sanctuary.
Prudence Ngcobo also shared her story. She came to the UK from South Africa in April 2015.
A year later, having fled an abusive relationship, she arrived in Swansea.
While she was granted refugee status, her status meant she had No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) meaning she wasn’t eligible for any support from the state.
Prudence, 36, said she was left in “no man’s land”.
“Nobody knew whose responsibility I was. Nobody knew how to help me.”
She said that she should have been moved to a permanent address within 16 days, but it took 90 days to get her a home.
At one point, she said, she was left with no money at all, and she relied on supermarket vouchers to feed her son.
She said: “I fell into a no man’s land, nobody was helping me. I wanted to find a job but I had a oneyear-old son.
“I was a new mother. My hormones were already all over the place. I needed to balance them and make sure I could take care of my baby. I nearly lost my mind.”
She was given access to public funds in September, which in turn helped her find accommodation.
“So many doors have now opened for me,” she said.
Asked what could have been done to improve her treatment, she said: “Don’t look at me like I’m destitute but empower that person.
“Listen to them as a human being and help.”
For the future, she wants to get her son into daycare so she can go to work.
“I want to work, the sooner the better.
“I have experience in insurance and call centres but I will do anything. I am not limited, I will try anything,” she said.
Godwin Akinyele arrived in the UK with his wife and two daughters. They were provided with emergency accommodation, but because it was a women-only hostel Godwin was not allowed to stay.
Instead, he slept in strangers’ houses or on the streets.
“I once imagined that death was friendlier than destitution,” says Godwin, who has a law degree and a diploma in civil law.
“It was such a bitter experience for me that I began to see myself as a person fleeing snakes from Nigeria, only to find myself taking refuge in a lion’s den.”
Godwin now lives with his wife and three daughters in Wrexham but is still waiting for a decision on his asylum claim.
The Welsh Refugee Coalition believes that no-one seeking sanctuary should be left at risk of homelessness and destitution.
They believe Wales could become the world’s first Nation of Sanctuary.
Chairman of the Welsh Refugee Coalition Rocio Cifuentes said: “The personal stories shared by brave and inspiring individuals at the Senedd show that arrival here in Wales is the start of another journey.
“This journey can be made much easier through the provision of effective support services and a hand of friendship by local communities.
“A more human-focused immigration system would enable people such as Hermann, Prudence and Godwin to settle in quicker, to rebuild their lives and to fully contribute to a Wales they now call home.”