14 Can’t Stay. Can’t Go. Refused asylum seekers who cannot be returned Eleven of the 15 refused asylum seekers are male 3.3 Having money and four are female. They range in age from 25 to 49 years. They originate from eight different 3.3.1 Receiving support countries and their self-reported countries of origin are listed in Table 2. Two of our female participants are on Section 95 support since they have dependent children. Fiyori (Eritrea) has two sons, aged three and two. She Table 2: Refused asylum seekers self- has no means of support beyond Section 95 and reported country of origin said: “It is not enough when you have two small children”. She worries about what will happen if Refused her support is stopped. Enaya (Palestine) has a asylum daughter aged five. Two other participants – Dawit Country of origin seekers (n) (Eritrea) and Kayla (Zimbabwe) – are on Section 4 Algeria 2 support. Eritrea 3 3.3.2 Not on support or support stopped Ethiopia 1 The remaining 11 participants are not receiving Iraq 2 any form of support. Some were on Section 4 in the past, when they had submitted a fresh claim Palestine 3 or had applied for assisted voluntary return (AVR). Somalia 1 Walid (Algeria) was granted Section 4 support because he had applied for AVR. However, Walid Sudan 1 cannot get a travel document from his embassy: Zimbabwe 2 You see I go there twice and they [Algerian Total 15 embassy] doesn’t want to give me anything…. The [UK] government, they cannot send me back because I don’t have any travel document…. They let me live like – between. I can’t go back and I can’t live here. (Walid, Algeria) All 15 of the refused asylum seekers we interviewed have documentation problems and Walid’s AVR application expired and his Section cannot be returned. Their individual stories (such 4 was stopped. He has been without support for as that of Anwar, on the next page) contain details almost five months: of the particular problems each is experiencing. The remaining stories can be found on pages 12 Yes, and they took everything from me. They and 28, and in the appendix. cut my support; they cut my Azure card, my money…. They cut everything…. I’m without. Nothing. Nothing. No job, no support, nothing, 3.2 Coming to the UK nothing. (Walid, Algeria) Most of our refused asylum seekers who cannot Without support, refused asylum seekers who be returned came to the UK because of problems cannot be returned are left destitute: in their country and the need to be, and feel, safe: I mean, the ones that we know of, really, in our I didn’t know anything about the UK before I area, they’re totally destitute. (Red Cross staff came here; I had no idea. I just knew I wanted member, Teesside) to be safe. I wanted a safe life. (Fiyori, Eritrea) A male participant from Leicester cried as he The amount of time for which our refused asylum described how it feels to be destitute: seekers have been in the UK ranged from 18 months to almost 17 years. Five people have Me, I can say, I can say, I can go one month been here for more than ten years – two for close without to get even 50p. You know, I’m to 17 years, two for 13 years and one for 11 years. struggling with life…. So it’s affecting me, Only five of the 15 have been here for less than because I got – I don’t have anything, anything. five years. (Anwar, Somalia)