information > refugee voices

Jennifer

When Jennifer arrived in the UK in 1998, seeking asylum was the last thing on her mind. The 27-year-old from Sudan had won a scholarship for an MA in Development Studies at Leeds University. Jennifer had been forced to flee to Cairo from South Sudan in 1989. She worked with the church in Egypt before taking a degree in Kenya, where she later worked for British aid agencies.

“It was not safe for me in Sudan because my father was a Bishop in the Anglican church,” she says. “The Islamic government was prohibiting worship and burning churches. My brothers were arrested and we were accused of links with the rebel movement. I knew I could never go back.”

After she had completed her MA, Jennifer planned to resume her career in Kenya. But the Kenyan authorities refused to renew her visa. “The Home Office were going to deport me to Khartoum, the Sudanese capital. I was terrified. I knew I would probably be killed. My only option was to apply for asylum.”

During this time, Jennifer became pregnant. Her savings ran out and she could no longer pay the rent in her student house.

“I was eight months pregnant when I was put in a hostel for newly-arrived asylum seekers. I cried – I felt the world was caving in on me. There is a stigma and I felt so ashamed I didn’t even tell my friends.

“Seven weeks later I was given temporary leave to remain in the UK. Just one week before I gave birth I found a council flat. It was on the eighth floor of a tower block and the lift was broken. I had a Caesarean and it was very painful to climb eight floors carrying a baby and shopping.”

While seeking asylum, Jennifer received vital support from the local Sudanese community. Jennifer, now 31, is doing voluntary work to help other asylum-seeking women in Leeds. She desperately wants to find paid work. “After I applied for asylum I wasn’t allowed to work. Staying at home with a small child, I felt I was losing my mind. Now I am trying to resume my career, but childcare is a big problem.

“In Sudan there is so much support from relatives. Here, women are on their own.”

In Leeds, staff from Refugee Action’s Northern Development and Integration Team are working with refugee community organisations, including Sudanese women’s groups, to ensure that this network of support continues to grow.