16/12/2023
The Guardian
‘HOSTING A MIGRANT IN YOUR HOMEIT HAS COME TO THIS AND IT IS NOT GOING AWAY ANY TIME SOON
,,IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO . STUPID BRITISH PEOPLE GIVING SHELTER TO MIGRANT REFUGEES TELL US WHY
Story by Interviews by Clea Skopeliti, Libby Brooks, Rachel Obordo and Jedidajah Otte •
OPEN UP YOUR HOMES TO REFUGEES AS GOVERMENT RUNNING OUT OF HOTELS
One of three charities supported by the Guardian and Observer 2023 annual appeal, Refugees at Home, runs a national network of volunteers with spare rooms who host homeless refugees and asylum seekers, providing them with shelter and support.
Here, volunteer hosts from across the UK speak about their reasons for opening their homes. ‘Our ancestors were refugees too’
Steven Fogel, from north London, a former City solicitor
We’ve just got our seventh refugee this week, a young man from Sudan. So far, we’ve hosted people from Syria, Turkey, Eritrea, Kenya, a Kurdish refugee and a Pashtun man from Afghanistan.
Our motivation to host refugees? Six reasons. One: we are Jewish, and our families were refugees long ago. We thought it was time to pass the baton. Some of the stories the refugees tell us about crossing countries in dangerous conditions are worryingly familiar.
Two: we have children and would like to think that if they were stranded, there would be a safe place for them.
Three: we are empty nesters with a lovely house and garden in a good and convenient area. Time to share it.
Four: having a youngster around is a breath of fresh air, it makes you flexible, since [as you get older] you get set in your ways.
Related video: Sadiq Khan on rising refugee homelessness (Dailymotion)
Five: we are curious. Hosting is a good way of learning about completely different cultures. Having an Eritrean farmer around, for instance, was fascinating.
And six: there’s little you can do about distressing world problems other than make donations.
We’ve always felt secure when we’ve been hosting.
We still WhatsApp with three of them from time to time, and one young man, from Syria, has become a friend, a lovely, lovely person who comes over for dinner sometimes and will attend my wife’s birthday party soon.
‘HOSTING A REFUGEE IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO
Maaz Salih Idris, 36, works in international aid, north-west London
Being a guest with Refugees at Home shaped my decision to become a host. I came to the UK from Sudan in 2017 and struggled to find housing before being a guest in several homes. All of the people I stayed with have become great friends and treated me like one of the family – it was a really comforting experience.
I’m hosting my second guest at the moment, a young Eritrean man who uses the sofa bed in my small flat. For me, hosting is just the right thing to do and allows for so much cultural exchange. It can be challenging sharing a small space but opening up your home can provide companionship for both sides.
There’s a loneliness epidemic here and there’s so much you can offer and get back in return from living in the same space – it’s really beneficial and good for our mental health.
YOU THE BRITISH PUBLIC HSAVE TO STEP UP AND DO SOMETHING
Stephen Gingell, 57, business owner in Manchester
The ideal host is someone not particularly stressy, who can get a call saying “There’s an urgent situation, can they come tonight?” You’re not flapping around thinking the house isn’t ready – you want to be relaxed and when they turn up, don’t ask too many questions, meet them where they are.
We’ve hosted two young men separately who appear to have their own support network. They were both very pleasant guys but very independent. You didn’t want to be like a parent hovering, they’re grown-ups getting on with their own lives. Both were interested in football, so had a connection with my sons; it’s this wonderful international language.
You just have to step up and do something, rather than just wringing your hands. It’s a very small ask to open your home. It’s cliche, but you realise how everyone is fundamentally the same.
‘YOU BRITISH CAN,T NOT HELP THESE PEOPLE FIRST
Sister Gloria Calabrese, 70, of the Faithful Companions of Jesus, east London
You can’t not help when there’s a need. I admit when we began talking about the possibility, there was a fair bit of “oh dear, how is it going to be?” But the Refugees at Home volunteer was so good at making everything clear. They suit the guests to the host.
We hear things on the news about difficulties with “refugees and migrants”, but those titles don’t really mean anything, so can be threatening for a lot of people. But once you know somebody who has a name and a face, when you’re making a connection, it changes your whole outlook.
It’s been great learning about new cultures. [Our first guest] baked her special Eritrean bread for us and told us all about it. And our friends from El Salvador made us their national dish as well. It’s really so enriching.
