Refugee Report from Anna
Southgate co chair Diane and I spent a wonderful couple of hours with the most resilient women we have ever met on 20 July.
They are asylum seekers and refugees from countries such as Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and Algeria.
These women have traumatic stories to tell and families to look after. They are safe here in the UK and their children have been offered schools but they are in one rather small and hot hotel room per family with no home to call their own.
We are asking these women what it is they need and want, and they tell us clothes, games for the children and a little more money than the £8 per week they have been given. They would love to be able to top up an Oyster card and leave the hotel for some fresh air and to relieve the boredom.
Despite this, their smiles as we try to speak to each other are broad and genuine.
They are grateful for a chance of a new life and eager to grab the opportunity.