Refugees' tales: Was an arduous journey to England worth the risk?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34140372

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The images of three-year-old Syrian Alan Kurdi lying dead on a Turkish beach after his family fled to Europe have brought the refugee crisis into full focus for many people. But what is life like for those who reach the end of that long and dangerous journey across continents?

Two refugees who reached the UK at the end of arduous trips tell their tales of breaking out of prison, paying thousands of dollars for false documents and travelling across the sea on a small and crowded, leaking, plastic dinghy - and how life in England has brought the dignity, respect and safety they had hoped for.

When Musa Hassan Ali, a Rwandan who was persecuted as a political prisoner, reached his final refuge in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he was welcomed by youths throwing eggs.

The shattering shells could have been a sign of a hostile welcome but instead, for him, they marked the end years of travelling and turmoil and the beginning of a new life on Tyneside.

Mr Hassan Ali, now a 50-year-old father of five, said he is very happy with life in Newcastle - and he even likes the North East English weather.

He grew up in Rwanda and neighbouring countries, moving between his family home and refugee camps as the East African country's Hutu and Tutsi peoples went to war.

He said he suffered beatings and feared for his life on a regular basis. In 2002 he was jailed as a political prisoner but one night his friends and family helped him escape his cell and cross the border to Uganda.

Once in the capital city Kampala, he paid $6,000 for fake papers and a passport with the aim of getting to Italy where he had previously studied and still had a residency visa.

The forged documents allowed him to travel and, together with another refugee and a man who acted as their shepherd, he travelled to London.

"The leader took our passports to get us tickets for the train to France, but we did not see him again," Mr Hussan Ali said.

"My family contacted him and he said we were to claim asylum in the UK, which we did."

Mr Hussan Ali claimed asylum in March 2002 and was granted residency in June of that year.

He and several others were sent as a group to Newcastle.

"The general public was very negative towards us at the beginning, we arrived at the hotel and there was a large group of children around us, they threw eggs at us.

"Our first thoughts of Newcastle were not good but I soon realised that this was children, I did not have any problem with any adults, they were not bad people, they were very sensible and once I explained my situation people were very welcoming and understanding.

"It was really tough for me at first but then my family joined me and I decided that we would make it our home.

"I found a job and I loved the weather in Newcastle, I like it when it is a bit cold."

The current crisis has horrified Mr Hussan Ali, who now works as a support worker for the West End Refugee Service in Newcastle.

"I lived in refugee camps for a lot of my life but they did not look the same as what we are seeing today.

"I really sympathise with these people and wish Britain can do something to help them.

"I'm sure at least 90% of them are genuine asylum seekers, it is very difficult for them when they get somewhere but their story isn't believed.

"I think we need to put the humanity back into the system."

Moving to Newcastle, he said, has allowed his children to "grow in the right way".

Like Mr Hassan Ali, Mohammed, an Eritrean-national who asked not to be indentified by his surname, fled his homeland amid fears of military action.

At 17 he spent eight days walking to Sudan, where he moved into a refugee camp.

But, fearing he would be abducted by gangs for ransom, he paid a smuggler to get him to Turkey where he boarded a plastic dinghy bound for Greece, along with 45 other men, women and children.

"After five hours at sea I was terrified," he said.

"Water was seeping into the boat, people were crying and children screaming, all I could think about was my family would never know what had happened to me if I drowned."

The dinghy was rescued by the Greek coastguard and from Greece he found his way to England, arriving in January 2014.

"I had no choice," he said.

"I wanted to reach a place where I could fulfil my dreams and live in safety."

With the help of Refugee Action, a UK-based charity that helps asylum seekers, he has found a new life in Liverpool.

"I love the UK," he said.

"I feel like a human here, I'm treated with dignity and respect regardless of my religion or race.

"I can speak without restrictions. I never knew what freedom meant before, but now I am free."