Women seeking asylum in NI 'frightened' in hotels

Refugees have arrived in Northern Ireland under official resettlement schemes

Women seeking asylum in Northern Ireland have said they are frightened to leave their hotel rooms.

Speaking to BBC News NI, one woman said she did not leave her room while her daughter was at school, another said she was scared to go out in public spaces.

Charity All Nations Ministries said the system for housing those seeking asylum in hotels is not fit for purpose.

Mears, who runs the hotel, said welfare officers are on site every day.

The company, which is contracted to the Home Office, said about 3,000 people are housed by them across Northern Ireland in a range of accommodation and that their safety and welfare "was of the utmost importance to them".

In November, SDLP MP Claire Hanna described the conditions that some asylum seekers are living in as "close to prison".

'Stuck in a room'

All Nations Ministries, which has helped hundreds of families over the past year, with food, clothing and some education classes, said families living months at a time in hotels should come to an end.

Dikra is one of the people the charity has helped.

She fled an abusive partner who had sexually exploited her in their home in Tunisia. She travelled to Italy but he followed her there, and then she went to Dublin.

She has been in Belfast with her daughter for the last four months.

Dikra said the conditions at the hotel were "very bad".

"We are stuck in the room and I don't leave while she is at school," she said.

Amira, not her real name, is from Palestine and has lived in the same hotel for nine months.

She finds life there lonely and frustrating,

"This is the first time in four days I've left my bed in the hotel," she said when speaking to the BBC.

"I'm very depressed. We left Palestine to find a safe place and the Home Office put me into the hotel."

The women said they feel alone and isolated in hotels

Amira said she sleeps all the time, there were no activities in the hotel and she was frightened to go anywhere.

"Every day I think I will die. No-one is thinking about us. No-one cares about us," she added.

"I tell the hotel I will go anywhere. I just want to work - I don't want benefits. But there is no news."

'£8 a week'

I meet Dikra and Amira at the All Nations Ministries centre in north Belfast.

It's a hive of activity with English, sewing and computer classes happening in different parts of the building.

Helen Livingston, a retired social worker and volunteer, said the people that came to the charity had experienced great trauma.

She said they were stuck in hotels "for months at a time in one room, nowhere to cook and they're not allowed to work".

"They're given £8 a week," she added.

"They don't look at a map and say Northern Ireland might be nice. They're coming through many countries.

"They leave Syria, Palestine, Yemen and they cross into Europe and make their way through other countries where they might spend long periods.

"We have fluent German speakers because they've spent years there but they aren't being given permanence and then they have to move again."

Helen Livingstone volunteers to help asylum seekers in Northern Ireland

Helen said the people she helped found the food unpalatable.

"Many of the children won't eat the food and then end up malnourished," she said.

Dikra and Amira both agreed that when there is so little to feel positive about, food could make a small difference.

A Mears spokesperson said hotels had been assessed prior to use to ensure they are of an appropriate standard.

"All accommodation arrangements meet housing standards and the Home Office contract regarding occupancy levels and space," they said.

"Three meals a day are provided, along with snacks, and menus meet NHS Eatwell standards."

The Home Office said: "We are committed to ensuring the well being and safety of those in our care. The use of hotels is a short-term solution and we are working hard to find appropriate accommodation."

You can see more on BBC Newsline on Wednesday at 18:30.