Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group

ONE STORY OF ONE ASYLUM SEEKER

Gloria is a young Congolese woman who was seized by the military, blind-folded, beaten and brutally raped. She fled to Angola and then to Britain but her claim for asylum was rejected and all benefits removed. She was destitute, wandering the streets of Southampton.

We have been able to provide rent for a room, a small amount for subsistence and some food from the Basics Bank. We have also helped her find medical treatment, counselling from Crisis for Rape, an interpreter, and a medical specialist willing to confirm the scars she has were the result of a certain kind of beating - evidence we hope can be used to reopen her asylum claim.

Gloria's mental and physical scars are healing and now she has more hope for the future.

Asylum Seekers like Gloria are one of the most marginalised groups in British society. They are seen not as people in need but as numbers to be removed and are often vilified in the press. Most are not allowed to work and may be made effectively destitute.