One of the staff from Saheliya Organisation connected me with single mother Ghofran Alnaem, asking me if I could write about her suffering and pain in order to bring attention to policymakers with a hope they can deal properly with her problem.
The current government is getting harsher towards their immigration and border policies, but in many cases they are failing individuals who desperately need safety.
When I spoke to Alnaem, she explained: “I came to the UK in 2017 through a family reunion of my ex-husband. We lived together for three years. Unfortunately, our relationship was filled with lies, deceit, and both physical and emotional abuse. The abuse caused me immense pain and even led to a miscarriage. Despite my efforts to reconcile and find common ground, the situation became unbearable. By 2019, it was increasingly difficult to continue living under threat.”
In 2019, her ex-husband banished her from home and left her in the street without anything. He also cancelled her immigration status as it was linked to his, which left her completely destitute. She sought help from Saheliya Organisation, which supports vulnerable women. They provided her with accommodation and assisted her in applying for asylum. A few months later, she was granted Leave to Remain for five years.
Trying to rebuild a life
After receiving her status, she decided to rebuild her life despite feeling desperate and mentally traumatised. She focused on improving herself and learning English. She enrolled in college, completed her English education, and successfully passed her driving test. She then started studying Health and Care, with the hope of becoming an adult nurse.
Currently she is not even allowed to continue her studies and obtain a Higher National Certificate (HNC). She further added while crying and breaking breath….
“However, during this time, I was also suffering from severe mental health issues and trauma, including PTSD, as a result of the abuse I experienced in my marriage. I began taking medication and attending mental health therapy sessions, but this had a major impact on my daily life. I became isolated and found it difficult to manage basic tasks. I was also worried about my family who lost their home in Syria during the war and moved to Lebanon Refugee Camping. Both of my parents were seriously ill, and the stress made my condition worse.”
Her Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) was due to expire on 1 September 2024, and she was supposed to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain three months before that date. Unfortunately, due to her severe mental health problems and lack of family or social support, she missed the deadline. She eventually managed to submit her Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) application on 31 October 2024.
During this period, her Universal Credit and Adult Disability Payment were stopped. She had no access to public funds and could not pay her rent or buy food. She relied on food banks and sometimes had to stay with friends, as she could not afford electricity or hot water in her home.
Application for asylum on hold
After six months of waiting, her MP Martin Rhodes informed her that the Home Office had decided to put her application on hold due to the fall of the Syrian president. Around this time, she discovered that she was pregnant, but she had already separated from her husband. Her pregnancy was extremely difficult because she could not afford proper nutrition or prepare for her baby’s arrival.
Recently, the pause on asylum for Syrian nationals was lifted. This made her very optimistic that her ILR would be processed soon. However, despite her financial and mental health difficulties, and the fact that she now has a one-month old baby who urgently needs proper nutrition and care, the Home Office has continued to hold her application.
Her local MP Martin Rhodes is now fighting to have her right to work reinstated so that she can support her baby and avoid homelessness. She has received a court action notice from housing due to rent arrears. She was recently informed that she was placed on immigration bail because her ILR has not yet been decided. At first, she thought this meant she would be able to access public funds, but after waiting two months, she was told that this status does not make her eligible. As a result, her Universal Credit account has been closed, and she remains without any financial support.
She is currently going through a very difficult time, and her mental health has been the worst. She is struggling every single day to provide for herself and her baby, and she is still relying on food banks to survive. She has no family or friends to support her, and she is deeply worried about how she and her baby will manage.
Plea for the Home Office
We urgently ask the Home Office to take her circumstances into consideration and show compassion by granting her ILR. She is devastated and terrified of losing her home and being homeless and unable to care for her child. In addition, she is also terrified of losing eight years of her life waiting to get her ILR. As she mentioned: “My ex-husband had cancelled my immigration status in 2019, which caused me to lose three years of waiting and delayed my opportunity to apply for ILR.”
We sincerely hope the Home Office consider her situation with understanding and humanity.
Currently, the Home Office has started having Syrian ethnicity interviews. Many are still waiting for their decision. Every Syrian in the UK who is an asylum seeker is unaware of their future in this country, and is living in desperate and constant depression.
Right to live in peace with dignity
To the far right and Government, who always treat immigrants as a threat and a problem, they forget how many women like Alnaem had no other choice for protection when they fled their country on a spouse visa or seeking asylum.
They are seeking safety from endless violence, torture, and abuse. We, as women, have too often been the victims of such painful and unjust incidents. Yet, it remains a challenge for both the system and our communities to truly believe, unite, and take meaningful collective action to confront these realities.
In a community where she longs to begin anew – for herself and her child – they, too, deserve to live in peace, dignity, and safety, just as every woman in our country rightfully should.
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