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Lisa and Khalil

When Lisa lost her sight at the age of four, her father, unable to care for her, abandoned her in a well. She was taken in by English missionaries in Iran, who brought her up in a supportive environment. They also instilled in her the strong Christian faith which, in later years, was to incur the wrath of the state authorities.

Since the Iranian revolution of 1979, religious minorities have suffered discrimination. Conversion from Islam to Christianity is a crime punishable by death.

“If you are a convert to Christianity you are treated like dirt,” explains Lisa, now 47, whose husband, Khalil, was also raised in a mission for the blind. Lisa, a graduate, was unable to find work, and Khalil had to pretend to be Muslim
in order to gain a teaching post. But suspicions about him soon arose.

“I was taken away in a car by the secret police,” says Khalil, now 60. “It was terrifying. They interrogated me and accused me of being a foreign spy.”

The couple withdrew to the safety of the mission with their daughter, Ariana, now 15. One night, after revolutionary guards invaded the compound, they fled Iran in terror. The family claimed asylum in the UK in 2003 and were placed in emergency
accommodation in Southampton. Refugee Action worked with the local authority’s visual impairment team to meet their special needs, linked them with support groups and helped them adjust to their new environment.

Ariana was about to start her final year of GCSE’s when the Home Office announced that the family was to be dispersed to another region. But after Refugee Action submitted evidence of their special needs, the family were allowed to remain in Southampton.

“It took me four months to learn the route to the shops in Southampton. I would have been lost,” Khalil explains. The family were refused asylum and recently lost their appeal. Now they are hoping that local support for their case can prevent them being returned to Iran.

Last year Refugee Action’s One Stop Shop service – funded by the Home Office – provided 29,540 confidential, impartial and high quality advice sessions, assisting asylum seekers from more than 60 different countries.

Refugee Action caseworkers help clients to apply to the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) for support and accommodation. We assist asylum seekers to access vital services such as education and healthcare and we liase with statutory agencies on their behalf. In addition, Refugee Action provides specialised training to partner agencies to help them better meet the needs of refugees and asylum seekers.