Wartime evacuee Sally, 83, throws open doors to 25 refugees
Treat others the way you would like to be treated is a motto many of us try to live by, but for Sally Beaumont, her life has been shaped by it.
For eight years Sally, 83, opened up her home to 25 asylum seekers, in part due to her own life experiences.
“I was evacuated as a child in 1939, during the Second World War, to a very nice place in Canada. But when the money that went with us over there stopped, we were refugees,” said Sally. “We relied on the kindness of others. “Asylum seekers are just people in trouble. I’d like to think if I was ever in trouble again someone would help me.”
Sally, who lives in Glasgow, is now widowed and was living alone when
‘ He’d been a bodyguard...I felt safe with him in the house!
she went to a Scottish Refugee Council conference and heard about the destitution many asylum seekers face.
The grandmother of eight then signed up to Room For Refugees, organised by Positive Action In Housing, and within a matter of days had been recruited as a host.
“I’ve had many lovely people come and go, but one of the most surprising stories came from a young man who came just for a short while,” said Sally. “It turned out he had been bodyguard to the president of Iraq. So I felt very safe with him in the house”
Sally is no longer fit enough to host, but keeps in touch with many of her guests, including Ngqabutho, 26, from Zimbabwe. Another is Kzak, 54, originally from Somalia, who saw her family massacred by rebels. She and Sally still see each other most weeks.
“When I first came to Sally’s house it was very hard,” said Kzak. “I would still cry. But she taught me English and slowly we began to laugh together.”