‘They gave us blankets, helped with a house. It still makes me weepy’: how a UK charity helped refugees | Refugees

For more than 70 years the Refugee Councils of Britain charity has been at the forefront of providing support to refugees and asylum seekers arriving in the UK after fleeing war and persecution.

This charity is supported by the Guardian and Observer 2023 appeal, alongside Refugees at Home and Naccom. Here, some of the people whose families it has helped over the years talk about their experiences.

George Szirtes, 75

I was seven when we left Budapest in 1956, just after the Hungarian uprising. There was fighting on the streets; the country was in chaos. My parents were Jewish – my mother had been in two concentration camps and my father in forced labour.

The decision to leave was taken very quickly. My mother was a photographer, and she emptied out a drawer full of photos into a small typewriter case that I ended up carrying. I still have the case and photos.

I have quite clear memories of being on a train, getting off and then walking across the border to Austria in the night. It was muddy and there were trenches. At one point I fell.

We were met by an Austrian armed guard who took us to a refugee camp. After a few days we were offered passage to the UK.

It was a cold December when we landed in London. We were taken to an army camp for a few days before being put up in a seaside boarding house in Westgate-on-Sea in Kent. None of us had ever seen the sea, and there we were by the seaside with wind and rain spattering in our faces. My father later told me it was a life-changing experience for him.

From the blankets people gave us to the people who drove us, the coordination from the refugee agencies that looked after us was remarkable. It still makes me feel a little weepy.

The Refugee Council really supported us – they helped us rent and then put down a deposit on a house. My parents were always grateful.

Esther Baleh, 21

It’s difficult to call two places home because I now have lived half of my life in Syria and half in the UK.

I say that Syria is my home country and the UK is the place that welcomed me. I love them both equally.

In my memory Syria was very beautiful. All of my family lived on the same street. And then the war came. It was scary. I was 10, and it was sad saying goodbye because you didn’t know when you were going to come back.

We landed at Manchester airport and were met by a case worker from the Refugee Council holding a welcome sign. There was food and much-needed smiles. We were driven to our new house in Hull which they had arranged. I remember All I Want for Christmas playing on the radio and my mum being confused by our driving on the wrong side of the road.

We had a dedicated case worker who helped with translations, enrolling in school and registering for services like the GP and hospital. I started to volunteer with the Refugee Council, the Red Cross and other NGOs, which helped me improve my English and make friends. I see volunteering as a means of returning the favour to the community that welcomed me.

Souleymane Ouedraogo, 38

I used to watch people who became refugees on the TV but I didn’t think it would ever happen to me. But yes, I am a refugee.

My country, Burkina Faso, is going through a political crisis and is controlled by soldiers. There is also the threat of terrorism. It was really difficult, but I made the decision to leave for my safety.

I miss my country, my family, the hot weather and the spicy food. I miss playing football with my friends. Burkina Faso was a big part of my life.

I arrived in the UK one and a half years ago. It was a shock for me, a different culture. I had to start again. It was freezing and I didn’t know where to seek asylum so I went to the police station. Then I was taken to Cardiff for my screening with the Home Office.

I came across the Welsh Refugee Council by meeting a case worker at an English class. They helped me with everything from language lessons to mental health support, and offered me training on interview techniques and how to write a CV. These opportunities developed my self-confidence, which has made integration much easier. I volunteer with them.

When I got my leave to remain this summer they helped me open a bank account and apply for universal credit. They also helped me start my housing application, but it is difficult in Cardiff because a lot of people have just been granted leave to remain and there is a waiting list. Many face homelessness.

The one thing that has stood out for me about British culture is the chips. Chips with something, chips with something else.

I’d like to be a politician focusing on environmental issues. Maybe I could be an ecologist MP in Cardiff?

Leon Ung, 13

I love telling everyone my family are refugees, because not everyone can actually say that. My family has experienced hardship and we’ve come out of it even stronger.

My dad and my grandparents were caught up in the Khmer Rouge’s genocide in Cambodia. If my family had stayed they would have died. They lost their family, their money, their house. The only thing that kept them going was hope.

They stayed in Vietnam for two years in what they called slave conditions until my grandad met a guy who had a boat going to Hong Kong.

It got into serious trouble and was rescued by a passing British cargo ship, the Sibonga, which saved their lives.

After some diplomatic wrangling, the UK agreed to let the people on the Sibonga seek refuge in the UK. They became known as the “boat people” and were brought to a refugee camp in Sopley in the New Forest, operated by the British Council for Aid to Refugees, which later became the Refugee Council.

They were later housed in a council flat in Peckham, south London. It was really hard when they first arrived – they couldn’t speak a word of English and thought it was winter the whole time because it was so cold.

I feel grateful for my heritage and happy that I can speak out for refugees. I want them to have hope just like my family did.