Client Story

My name is Birtu. I come from Ethiopia , from a small village in the South. My family are all in Ethiopia - my mother, brothers and my 4 sisters. My father died 12 years ago - in the civil war between Eritrea and Ethiopia . After I finished high school, I worked in the local market selling coffee and spices but I made good money, I built up my business and I travelled all over the country.

In November 1997 my brother introduced me to a man; he said this is my friend; he will take you to England . I paid £2,500, £600 was for the flight and the rest he explained was an arrangement fee because he had to pay other people. My little sister left Ethiopia at the same time but she went to Kenya . But when we arrived at Heathrow, this man just left me on my own. I did not know anyone in England , and I was very scared. I went to the tube station, but I did not know what to do or where to go. I heard some people talking in Amharic - a language that is spoken in Ethiopia . They could see that I was alone and very upset. I asked them if they would help me.

Even though these people did not know me, they were very kind. I was confused and scared, but I trusted them, because they were so kind to me - what else could I do?

They took me to their home. I told them my story. They said that I should apply for asylum and that they would help me, as I had no-one else to help me. They took me to the asylum team at the local council, but the asylum team said that they could not offer me anywhere to live. They said that I should find somewhere by myself, and that they would help me pay the rent.

Just a day or two after I moved into my new flat, I started to feel unwell. At nights, I would wake up covered in sweat and hot with fever. I also started to have diarrhoea - very bad diarrhoea that made me feel weak and sick. One woman that I had met took me to a local surgery and helped me register with a GP. The doctor said to me, 'you should get a test for HIV'. I panicked. I didn't understand very much about HIV. Of course, I have heard about it before - I even watched a TV programme about it once. They said on this TV programme that once you have HIV, you can never be cured. That is very frightening. But the doctor told me that there are treatments which can help. Still I was terrified. I kept thinking, but what if I am positive? What will I do? Surely, this will mean that I will die. I did not want to go to hospital and find out if I had HIV.

For more than a year, I kept myself from going to the Hospital. I knew I should go, but I was too scared. At the end of 1999, I became very ill again. This time I was bleeding continuously for 15 days. It wasn't like my usual menstrual period. This time I felt that I had no choice; I had to go to hospital. I called one of my friends and she took me to a local hospital which was in North London . They kept me for 3 days. They gave me blood transfusions, some medicine and then sent me home. But the next day, I started bleeding again. This time, my friend took me to a different hospital. Again they treated me - this time they kept me there for 11days. They told me they could test me for HIV but I said no. I didn't want it.

I went back to my GP. He sent me to yet another hospital. He said, Birtu, you have to take a HIV test. Don't worry the medication will help you live a normal life. So, this time I went to the Hospital and took the test. I was diagnosed with HIV. That was January 1999, I was still very scared. I was put on medication, but they made me feel unwell. My head felt very strange, I was hallucinating. I could not think straight. I was kept in hospital again. My CD4 count was 30. Some people that I knew from the local church came to visit me. The pastors were praying for me - they even gave me some help with money and food.

For 2 years now, NPL has been helping me. They give me a place to come and talk, get some advice on housing, and they have even helped me access some hardship funds.

I miss home. All the time, I think of my family. I wonder how my mother is - what my brothers and sisters are doing. Whether they are safe. I don't have enough money to phone them regularly. I live in a hotel now. I enrolled in a local college studying English, computer and design I am in my second year now.

At the moment, thank God, I can say I live a moderately healthy life. I have neuropathy - pain in my fingers and a constant pain in my legs with the medication my CD4 count has improved, I have something between 150-200 T cells which is much better.

Being an asylum seeker is something you don't choose. You are labelled as someone who begs and is always a burden. I see myself as someone who works hard and cares for people. But instead of being an asset to society, we are treated like second-class citizens.

We are human beings with basic needs. We deserve the basic things that all humans deserve - food, somewhere safe to live and human rights.

When I first came to England , I have to say I did feel welcomed for a while. I thought that being in a western country would mean living among educated people who are open minded and compassionate. There are some very kind people who have helped me, but mostly people think you are a burden.

All the policies and procedures of the health and legal services are designed to help you - but they don't. They are confusing and sometimes they don't help the people they were meant to help.

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