To mark this year’s Refugee Week, Embrace’s Kat Brealey shares her reflections on the challenges faced by people who have been forced to flee from their homes. She writes about the importance of putting compassion into action, and welcoming those who are seeking sanctuary.

I am writing this with one eye on my phone, watching out for a message from my parents to say they have arrived safely. After 25 years, today they moved out of the house where my sister and I grew up, and set off to start a new chapter in another part of the country. Last night I asked my mum how she was feeling and she responded with a photo of a packing box, marked ‘fragile’!

But despite the inevitable mixed emotions, this is a move they have chosen to make. They know where they will be living when they arrive, they have all their treasured possessions with them, and they trust that they will soon make friends.  

For many people around the world, their experience of moving is very different. Whether precipitated by a sudden crisis, or a gradual realisation that home is no longer a safe place, they embark on a journey driven by the need to find sanctuary. Travelling by plane, bus, boat or on foot, the destination may be uncertain. Equally unclear is the reception they will receive as refugees. 

‘Think global, act local’

In my role as a Programme Manager at Embrace, I’ve heard lots of these stories firsthand – whether in Egypt, from pregnant women who’ve fled conflict in Sudan, or in Iraq, where many of our partner staff have been internally displaced from Baghdad or Mosul to the relative stability of the Kurdish Region. While the majority of refugees in the Middle East end up in neighbouring countries – the largest number hosted by Lebanon – some make their way to America, Australia or Europe.  

Between 2014 and 2020, the UK government committed to resettling 20,000 Syrians considered especially vulnerable – usually due to health conditions which could not be treated in their current location. In 2019 I received a message from a local refugee charity to say that a family were arriving in my area. Would I gather a small group of people from my church to befriend and support them? Remembering the phrase ‘think global – act local’, I said yes.

What followed was a whirlwind of briefing my fellow volunteers, preparing the house provided by the City Council, and gathering items the family would need. They arrived in June. The family - mother, father and three children - had lived in Damascus until the father was kidnapped and tortured by soldiers. Once he was freed, they decided to leave and flew to Sudan, before crossing into Egypt in a truck. They registered with the UN in Cairo, and after living there for some time, were selected for resettlement.  

Riding the rollercoaster together with refugees

Being a refugee is a rollercoaster – the joy of being safe at last is quickly followed by homesickness for the family and culture left behind, and frustration at having to navigate the UK’s many administrative processes. Our new friends hadn’t chosen the city where they’d ended up, or even this country; it was here or nowhere.

So in the months that followed, I did my best to strap in next to them and show that at least they weren’t riding the rollercoaster alone. While the Council provided support with some things, and charities helped with others, there were lots of mundane but crucial practicalities left for them to figure out on their own. I found myself decoding various official letters, registering them for free school meals, and advising on recycling – all through the medium of Google Translate.

In September the children went to school and picked up some English, and as a family they gained confidence and independence. Although there were still lots of challenges, over time I went from visiting weekly to being on hand via Whatsapp if needed.  

Extending and receiving hospitality

In early 2022, I reached out to offer to befriend another family. Many of the estimated 17,000 people evacuated from Afghanistan when the Taliban took control of Kabul in August 2021 had been living in cramped hotels for six months. Now families were gradually being moved into houses, and I was matched with one who would be living round the corner.

The husband had been in the Afghan army; together with his wife they had three young children, and she was pregnant with a fourth. I started visiting weekly, although communication was almost impossible at first. No one in the family could read or write, and Google Translate didn’t include their language in spoken form. I compiled an assortment of games and activities that didn’t require a common language, and was amused to discover the kids had a bottomless appetite for hide and seek.

A few months in, I was touched when I realised they were inviting me to stay for dinner, laying down a plastic tablecloth on the floor and motioning for me to sit around it with them. They put one plate of meat and rice in front of me, while all four of them ate from the other one. I thought about all the times that Middle Eastern hospitality had been offered to me on trips to Embrace partners – and now it was happening in my own postcode. 

A challenging political climate for refugees

With both my Syrian and Afghan friends, one of the most challenging things has been having to introduce them to the limitations that apply here in the UK, despite our comparative wealth as a nation. For example, when one of them suffered from toothache, I struggled to explain that there are no dentists accepting new NHS patients in our city. And when they exclaimed over the price of things, I had to confirm that making ends meet is difficult if you rely on Universal Credit.  

But at least the fact they had arrived by official government routes meant my friends were recognised as having refugee status. For people who arrive independently in the UK, there is the torturous experience of seeking asylum – which entails months or years of living in poor quality accommodation, receiving just £45 per week, being denied the opportunity to work, while waiting for your case to be heard.

Meanwhile, the Refugee Ban Bill announced by the Home Secretary earlier this year seeks to prohibit people claiming asylum in the UK altogether by stating that anyone who arrives outside of the very limited official routes will be detained or deported. 

Praying for safety and peace for all

Hebrews 13:2 reads, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” As I walked home from visiting my refugee friends, I often felt privileged to be able to welcome them to a place they would be safe. But even so, I was deeply pained by how hard their lives were, and would continue to be.  

My phone chimes and my mum confirms they’ve reached their new home. As I reply, I hope and pray for a world where at their journey’s end, all people find peace and security.