‘We’re leading a horrible life’: the reality of living in UK asylum limbo

The government has pledged to clear the backlog of 85,839 asylum claims in the hope of making the system function better and cost less.

It recently emerged in published freedom of information data that at least 20 cases have been in the system for more than a decade, with the oldest waiting nearly 17 years, and a further 19 cases are between 10 and 16 years old.

The Guardian tracked down three people who have been stuck in the system for years and asked them about the reality of a life in perpetual limbo.

Virginia Wairimu

The 51-year-old, who lives in Birmingham, fled Kenya in 2019 after being attacked because she is a lesbian.

Wairimu said she was brought up in a staunchly Christian family and was pressured into marrying a man, who was violent and sexually abusive towards her.

“I was successful in my career and became a travel consultant running my own safari company. I fled my marriage taking my young daughter with me and adopted another child. I met a woman in 2015 and we fell in love,” she said.

She and her partner survived by concealing their relationship, but eventually they were outed. Wairimu received threats on her phone, such as “People like you don’t deserve to live” and “We need to eliminate you”. After she was assaulted to “cure” her of being a lesbian she knew she had to flee.

As soon as she arrived in the UK she claimed asylum. The Home Office rejected her claim saying they did not believe she was a lesbian and that even if she was she could return home and live discreetly.

Wairimu has to present herself regularly at immigration reporting centres and could be arrested at any time. “Every time I go to report I prepare myself in case the Home Office detains me. I make sure people know I’m going to report and I write any phone numbers I might need if I’m detained on a piece of paper, as they confiscate your phone when they detain you. The night before I go to report I lie in bed thinking: ‘Will this be the last night I’ll sleep in this bed?’

Sampson*

Sampson has been battling to stay in the UK after fleeing torture in his home country in west Africa more than 16 years ago.

His case was refused despite providing medical reports of his torture scars.

“I have seen so many different home secretaries come and go. I remember when Theresa May was home secretary and there was a scheme to reward Home Office staff with vouchers for a strong performance, including winning cases against asylum seekers,” he said. “That made me feel very bad. But since then things have got much worse.

“When I first arrived in the UK I was still young but now I’m getting old.”

He said he had been condemned to living in perpetual limbo although he dreams of being allowed to work and contribute to society.

He lives in a shared house with other asylum seekers and receives £49.18 a week from the Home Office to live on.

“My days consist of buying some food, cooking it, eating it and then lying down on my bed,” he said. “People need to stop lying about asylum seekers living in luxury here. We are leading a very horrible life in this country.”

Sandrine*

An asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sandrine left her three young children behind when she fled after being persecuted and threatened by the government because she was politically active against the former president Joseph Kabila 15 years ago.

“When I had to run my youngest one, my baby, was just three. I had to escape very fast because I was in immediate danger. I was speaking up for human rights in my country. So many people who opposed the president were put in prison and lost their lives there. The situation was really terrible. My baby is now 18 and I haven’t seen her for 15 years.”

She said that in the last decade and a half she has had three different immigration lawyers, paid for by members of her community, but that all three had failed her. Sometimes she has lived in Home Office accommodation but other times she has been homeless.

“Sometimes people in the Congolese community would let me stay at their homes for a week or two before I had to move on. Often I would have to sleep in a chair in the living room. Sometimes I was able to sleep in a church.”

She said if it was safe for her to return to the DRC she would board the next plane but that she has been warned by contacts there that if she went back she was likely to be targeted by state agents.

“Sometimes I think that because I have not managed to find a good lawyer to help me sort out my asylum claim I will die here before my situation is resolved.”

* Name has been changed