(C) OpenDemocracy
This story was originally published by OpenDemocracy and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



Pregnant refugee to be evicted and sent 250 miles away days before due date [1]

[]

Date: 2024-03 

A heavily pregnant refugee is set to be evicted and moved to the other side of the country just two weeks before her due date.

Ayana* is due to give birth in early April. All her prenatal appointments have been in Tower Hamlets in east London and her birth is also booked at the nearby Royal London Hospital. But next week she will be uprooted by the council and sent 250 miles away to Middlesbrough, where she has no friends or family – or medical records.

Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth (HASL), the housing rights group supporting Ayana, believes she could successfully appeal the decision and has – at the last minute – found a lawyer willing to take on her case.

“I’m scared,” said the 30-year-old, who has asked us not to use her real name for fear of abuse. “My situation is not good but I’m trying to be relaxed as much as I can so that this doesn’t affect my baby. I can’t even be as emotional as I want.”

Get our free Daily Email Get one whole story, direct to your inbox every weekday. Sign up now

Ayana moved to the UK from Eritrea in 2020 with her now ex-husband. Although she did spend two years working at factories and a care home in Middlesbrough, she no longer has any connections there and moved back to Shadwell almost a year ago.

She became homeless at the start of the year and was housed in a B&B as a form of emergency accommodation. But earlier this month, Tower Hamlets Council rejected her application for housing, saying she had more of a local connection to Middlesbrough and should be housed there instead. She disputes this, saying her relatives live in east London and that all her maternity care is here.

Asked about having her first baby, she said: “I don’t feel excited. Because even if I give birth I’m still thinking about where I’m going after having the baby. The hotel room is very small. So it’s difficult for me and it will be difficult for my baby… I feel hopeless. I feel like no one is beside me.”

In an eviction email seen by openDemocracy, Tower Hamlets Council told Ayana that her “comfort and well-being are of utmost importance” and offered assistance with travel to Middlesbrough – but did not acknowledge her pregnancy or concerns about continuing her care in a new city.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/pregnant-refugee-tower-hamlets-council-middlesbrough/

Published and (C) by OpenDemocracy
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/opendemocracy/