Blog post as told to Jáfia Câmara, School of Education.
As a refugee and single mother, lockdown in the UK is hard. #HumansofCOVID19
My name is Maria*. I am an asylum-seeker single-mother who escaped to the UK because I felt unsafe in my home country.
My life in the United Kingdom before the pandemic
I arrived in the United Kingdom two years ago. It was hard for me because I am a single mother. I am alone with my two small kids. Initially, the accommodation and support I received as an asylum-seeker were horrible. I had to share a house with strangers who liked to drink alcohol and smoke. It was depressing. It was horrible. My living conditions are better now, but my children and I have faced many new difficult challenges. (more…)