Refugees
I came from a society where the social bond is so strong. so here in the UK, we have a community where we can share ideas and discuss many issues. This helps me forget about my past experiences (victim of torture and long imprisonment). Since the lockdown panic is skyrocketed, hopelessness and depression increased because there are no meetings as usual. Thinking about death while living in a desperate situation is very hard. Moreover, the information which indicates more minorities are dying from COVID-19 is very frightening. And also It makes me not to trust the health sectors and etc (this might be due to depression).
Asylum Seekers
Asylum seekers are more vulnerable than refugees. Firstly, they live in a small and overcrowded place which may expose them to the Corona easily. secondly, they could not afford to buy toiletries, sanitizers, tissue and other (they get £5 a day for food and everything) It’s not enough at the best of times, but during the coronavirus crisis, with food banks and other support services closed, the difficult budgeting decisions have become impossible. So having those essential things for asylum seekers are considered to be as a luxury. Nevertheless, they can’t afford using the internet or to call their families back home this time due to the lockdown. Before the lockdown, they go to Costa, charity or any other place where they could find free wifi.
So the lockdown has a tremendous amount of impact on us mentally, financially and also socially.
I’m so sorry for misspellings and other errors because I’m typing very rashly because I’m super busy these days studying English online and translating documents. Thank you!
Well, people who born here have the privilege of using technology to contact their families easily. Undoubtedly, many people are in a great challenge during this pandemic. However, the degree of challenges is extremely different. I believe that the most important thing people who born here could learn from refugees and asylum seekers is that there are people who didn’t get a chance even to talk to their families over the phone or maybe video calls. On top of that, there are many problems which harm their mental health.
Thank you!