Asylum seekers say they are “living in fear” following the migrant hotel protests, including the demonstration at a Holiday Inn Express in Oxford and the Bell in Epping, Essex
Defiant asylum seekers living in a “migrants” hotel have spoken out about the vile hatred they’ve faced in recent days.
Speaking of their anguish, the desperate refugees said they do not understand the anger they’ve experienced from demonstrators who have gathered outside their Holiday Inn Express. One man, who did not want to be named, said he has aspirations of becoming a police officer in the UK.
The asylum seeker, one of about 20 who needed security protection at the hotel in Oxford on Saturday, said: “I want to work here, I will go to college. I want to learn. One day I want to be a zookeeper or become a police officer.
“I can’t say anything [about the protest outside] but I don’t understand it. They judge us all for being bad people, but we are not. We just want to live better lives.”
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The man, who came from Syria to flee conflict and has been living at the hotel for around one month now, is so scared following the protests he declined to have his photograph taken because he feared he would become a target.
Tensions spilled over this weekend as protests outside so-called asylum hotels threatened to boil over. Anti-racism groups staged counter-protests at several sites, including in Bristol and Liverpool.
The refugee in Oxford says is “not happy at all” to have witnessed groups protesting against him and his friends. He added: “I came here on a boat, crossing from Calais to Dover. When I arrived, the police took me away and took my phone for three days. I was without it all that time. But I understand why they had to do it.”
Another has been living at the Holiday Inn Express in Oxford for around one year and five months after arriving from Afghanistan. He too said he has hopes of finding work and a happy life here in the UK.
But amid the mounting criticism of his approach to small boat crossings, it is thought Keir Starmer will implement his one in, one out migrant deal with France within weeks. The Government is braced for further legal fights over the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, it is understood.
However, Hari Reed, chief executive of the Oxford charity Asylum Welcome, said: “People who claim asylum are legally permitted to have their asylum claims heard, and we are morally obligated to protect people in need.
“Many have fled unimaginable situations – they are traumatised, scared and want to rebuild their lives. They are not permitted to work despite wanting to, and they have no choice over where they live. They don’t want to be in a hotel either.”