Leon is destitute. His wife and three children have had to leave their home and support network. Leon hasn’t seen his children for years but they stay in contact over the phone. These phone calls are really difficult for him as he is here in the UK and his wife and family are still in Cameroon.
His wife sees the UK as a rich country; other people’s husbands who have come here are able to send lots of money home to pay for school, housing and medicine. The neighbours ask why her husband can’t do the same.
Leon has claimed asylum after being tortured in Cameroon. He’s not allowed to work whilst his claim is processed. He had been receiving £36 a week from the Home Office to live off but now his claim has been refused. His accommodation is now provided by a charity and he gets £10 to live on from them.
Compared to others in a similar situation in the UK Leon’s situation is pretty desperate although he is receiving some counselling to help him deal with what he’s been through. When he speaks to his wife on the phone she asks him to send money. He does, saving up each week to send £10 or £20 at a time. This leaves him with no money for food but he wants to provide for his children.
Leon wants to get refugee status in the UK and this would give his family the right to join him here. But he feels a lot of guilt about not being able to provide for his family and sometimes the pressure is so much he struggles to speak to them on the phone. If he breaks off contact it will make it much more difficult for his family to join him here in the future as he will need to prove they have maintained the relationship whilst separated.
Leon’s situation isn’t unique but to him it feels like he’s on his own. Many of the clients who use our family reunion have faced similar struggles. Many have had to spend years proving their case to be reunited with their loved ones. Whilst this situation drags out parents are missing precious time with their children. In some cases children turn 18 and are no longer considered dependent and eligible for reunion.
Our family support programme pilot meant Leon was able to send some money to his family. This went on real essentials for his family’s day to day life and allowed him to have some positive contact with them. Whilst in the pilot Leon had, for a short while, something else to think about other than his own struggle.
The evaluation of this project showed that the intervention can make a real difference both in the long and short term. We thank Awards for All for letting use a small amount of our grant to test this idea and we will be working hard to secure future funding.
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