An asylum seeker father says he was threated with having his youngest child taken away from him as he waited to be housed in a permanent home.
Refugees placed at the Holiday Inn in Empire Way, Wembley, say some have waited nearly two years without being found a new home, living in poor conditions and sometimes becoming ill over the food provided.
Protesters outside the hotel on Monday (August 7) likened the condition to a “prison” and called for “no hotels, no barges, no tents, just licensed homes”.
Abraham Clark, 45, said it has been 14 months since he first arrived in the UK from Nicaragua with his wife, who is seven months pregnant, and two children.
He said: “In the hotel they separated me from my wife in different rooms, they threatened me to take my small son and send him to government custody, refusing to let me be with him – just because he marked the wall with a colour pencil.
“I crossed the Atlantic Ocean not to be separated from my son.”
According to Mr Clark, the mainly Indian dishes he has been served have not been satisfactory, and both his wife and son have become “thin and pale” from what they were served.
He said: “The pregnancy process has been very difficult for her, it has been stressful and I am very afraid for her health and I cannot solve anything.”
He said his eldest son, 12, has had no access to school meals and has had to eat a “tasteless” cold sandwich for breakfast and lunch.
“My son is not only thin and pale, but his self-esteem and psychology is being destroyed, all because the Home Office never sends me my NASS [National Asylum Support Service] number.”
The dad said it “destroys” him that he cannot further support his son and it makes him “feel beyond miserable”.
Despite the conflict with the hotel he has been placed in, he said the Home Office staff at the airport were initially welcoming and supportive, but he says that after waiting for over a year he says he has had a “limited” experience in society.
Another asylum seeker, 24, says that since arriving in Wembley in January 2022, she “did not imagine this country is like this regarding human rights action”.
She said: “Many people wish to find a safe place to leave the homeland. But leaving wasn’t and isn’t easy for most of the people.
“I thought I was luckiest one – which I considered myself – that I was going to a place where my background and suffering will be heard and respected, but it was totally the opposite.”
As a former university student and activist, she said she has a lot to contribute to society.
The asylum seeker said: “I want to study, I want to go ahead, I want to help my people but I am stuck in a hotel room.
“I cry a lot every day, I do not have enough words to explain my pain.”
Without being allowed to study, she feels “chained and imprisoned” and said she feels “mentally tired”.
She said that while the room is fine, she is “sick” of the system and wants to have her own independence, wash her own clothes, cook for herself and clean her own room.
She added: “We have a lot of restrictions. In the hotel I get three meals but it's not edible most of the time.
“I am compromising with my health and pushing myself to eat. Many times I am so hungry but have no option what to do, I can not buy something with £9 per week!”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We have not been able to investigate these claims due to insufficient information provided on the case."
The Home Office continued: “Despite the number of people arriving in the UK reaching record levels, we continue to provide support for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.
"Asylum-seekers in receipt of catered accommodation are provided with three meals a day along with snacks and water, and a weekly allowance where eligible.
“The food provided in asylum hotels meets NHS Eatwell standards and responds to all culture and dietary requirements. Where concerns are raised about any aspect of the service delivered in a hotel we work with the provider to ensure these concerns are addressed.”
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