So, today I met again with Sofia, a refused Zimbabwean asylum seeker who is destitute in Manchester….unable to be returned home and with no recourse to public funds (ie benefits, healthcare, housing) but prohibited from working.
Life for someone in her position seems to me to be an endless cycle of catching buses and walking miles in order to do the simplest of things that the rest of us take for granted.
In order to get her £10 a week food voucher (top) from an independent charity, Sofia must travel into the city centre and another three miles or so in another direction, to the little church where the drop-in is held. She can only spend her money in one supermarket chain…needless to say they aren’t always near where she has managed to find a sofa or piece of someone’s floor to sleep. And £10 doesn’t exactly go far…especially when you are suffering from high blood pressure and need a healthy, low cholesterol diet.
Then there is the work involved in running an anti-deportation campaign…collecting signatures wherever you go (picture 2), gathering evidence that you are in danger if you are returned….etc. Yet she is one of the most positive and active people I know…it’s inspiring, humbling and every other cliche you care to throw out. I’m hoping to dedicate some serious time to this one over the coming weeks…we shall see. I’m great at ideas and dreams but not always so good when it comes to following through. Luckily for Sofia, she is far less of a flake.