Who are we?
Story of migration
Our 'story' is more of a factual representation of reality than a story. It shows the realistic dangers andthreats a refugee goes through. Fortune's story is a story of a failed migration, since she had to return to her home country where she wouldn't be able to protect her children from the horrible traditions and practices of her people. To get a clear view of what refugees really are and what their circumstances are, we have also made a short list of facts about refugees.
Q. What is a refugee?
A. According to the UN Refugee Convention, the definition of a refugee is someone who…
'owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country' (Article 1, 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees)
Q. Where do refugees come from?
A. The vast majority of people who seek asylum in the UK have fled countries ravaged by war and human rights abuses. In 2014, there were 3,239 asylum applications from Eritrean nationals and 2,081 applications from Syrians.
In 2014, the top ten source countries of refugees worldwide were Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Central African Republic, Iraq and Eritrea.
Q. How many Syrian refugees are there and how many is the UK helping?
A. As of October 2015, there are over 4 million refugees from the conflict in Syria. As well as providing aid to the refugee camps on Syria's borders, the UK has pledged to resettle 20,000 Syrians. So far, 216 Syrian refugees have come to the UK through this scheme.
Q. Which countries in Europe have the most asylum seekers?
A. In the EU, Germany received the largest number of asylum applications (173,100) in 2014. Sweden was second (75,100), and Italy third (63,700).
People flee for many different reasons. Below you will find a story about a girl named Fortune who left because she didn’t agree with the religious rites that were viewed as ordinary. She left for the UK to protect her children from the harmful actions taken in her countries. She saw no other option than to flee her country and leave. As it turned out, her husband had to leave the UK, leaving Fortune alone with her family. They became homeless, but for Fortune this was better than going back to Nigeria. below you will find the article
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Below you'll find a story about a young woman named Fortune, who has led a tough life and has been refused asylum despite the bad situation of her own country.
‘Fortune is a young mother with two sons. She came to England from Nigeria to join her husband, a university student. When his application to stay in the UK was refused, he told her they would have to return to Nigeria.
Fortune didn’t want to go. In Nigeria, her and her husband’s families practice traditional rites that are harmful to children. One includes making an incision, a mark on a child’s body.Fortune and her husband had both experienced this. Now she was desperate to protect her sons.
“I have marks all over my body [from when] they mutilated me,” says Fortune. Even as an adult, her husband still had nightmares about the practices he’d endured as a young child. “It still affects him, the fear,” says Fortune. “You can see it on him, maybe he is sleeping then suddenly he wakes up, screaming. I said no – I don’t want my children to experience that”.
Fortune was determined to stay in the UK where her children would be safe. Her husband didn’t agree, and eventually abandoned the family. “So I was alone with my children,” Fortune says. With no status or income, Fortune asked a friend for help. The friend referred her to a refugee organisation, who told her to claim asylum.
To do this, Fortune and her sons had to travel to the Home Office in Croydon. They arrived late at night. With nowhere else to go, the family spent the night at the police station. Fortune’s youngest son slept in his pushchair; her and her old son on a chair. “I don’t want to remember it,” Fortune says. “It was horrible”.
The family thought they could stay with friends after claiming asylum, but this was not to be. They became homeless, sleeping on people’s sofas and floors. Occasionally they stayed in hostels or shelters. As a mum with young children, Fortune should have been protected – but no-one had ever told her about her rights.
Eventually, Fortune was directed to Refugee Action. An advice worker helped her to apply for accommodation for her family – finally getting them a safe place to stay. “The lady there, she was so nice to us,” remembers Fortune. “They were all ready to help”.
The family moved for the last time, into safe accommodation. Fortune feels secure there, but sadly has just learnt that her asylum claim has been refused. Having a safe place to stay is helping her to fight this decision, but she’s still desperately worried about her family’s future. “I just live for my children,” she says. “I don’t know how to convince the Home Office that we will be in danger if we return. I don’t know what to do”.’
taken from : http://www.refugee-action.org.uk/refugee_voices
Our story shows the hardships a refugee like Fortune goes through when they decide to leave their country in hopes of a better future. These refugees have had their fundamental human rights violated. Their right to safety was not taken into consideration and so they fled for their own well-being. Our story shows the harsh reality of what it means to have your rights taken away from you, of what it means when no one can help you. Our story also shows how many refugees there are that could be living safe and healthy lives but instead are living in fear of their own country and of their fate. Fortune's story shows that even when you think all is going well, it only takes one little thing to ruin your happiness. One phonecall that makes all your bad dreams and nightmares become reality.
It is necessary for people to realize the urgency of the situation concerning refugees, especially after the terrorist attacks on Paris on Friday the 13th of November, 2015. We take our safety for granted but before you know it, you might be the one asking to stay the night because your home got destroyed by a bomb.