Bedri*, 26 years old, from Albania

I left Albania for a better life, but when I came here, my life was threatened.

Some people who had a truck offered to help me get to the UK and I agreed to pay a lot of money to be brought here. When I came to the UK, I realised that it wasn't that easy.

The people who brought me said they would help me to find a job so I could settle and start living in the UK. But the day after arriving, they told me I had to go inside a house where they were growing cannabis. For 3 months, I was alone inside and not allowed to leave the house. I was scared to leave because they told me I would be in trouble if I were to leave. For 3 months I had to grow and look after the cannabis plants. I knew the work was illegal, I just didn't have any other choice. I didn't know what to do. 

For 3 months, I was alone and not allowed to leave the house. I was scared to leave because they told me I would be in trouble if I were to leave. For 3 months I had to grow and look after the cannabis plants. I knew the work was illegal, I just didn't have any other choice. I didn't know what to do. I was really stressed because I had no idea how long I would be there for.

One day when I was sleeping, 3 or 4 people broke in. It was around 7am when they broke the door and came in with a really big knife and they hit me, slicing my hand. I didn't know who it was, because they were wearing masks and sprayed my eyes so I couldn't see anything. They held the knife against my neck and they told me not to make any noise. They left as soon as they heard the police sirens. The neighbours had called the police because they saw them breaking in to the house. The police told me afterwards when I recovered and was a little bit better.

I had to wait in the hospital until they could do the surgery on my hand. It was difficult to be seen at the hospital and the police intervened to make sure they would do the surgery. The police helped me a lot; when I was hospitalised for two days they were there 24 hours a day and I was never left alone. After, they called me every day making sure that I was okay.

After being in hospital, the police gave me accommodation for a few days and with permission I went to live with my cousin. They ran an investigation for 6 months, but finally they told me that they hadn’t caught anyone and the investigation had been closed. Obviously, I wanted to know who did this to me and I wasn't feeling good. I’m not the same as I was before - I can’t bend my hand and I'm not able to do a lot of things that I used to do.

Now life is a lot quieter because I'm seeking asylum and waiting for the outcome. I’m feeling better because I am protected by the government now because I am in the system - it’s not like when I first came here, where everything was insecure.

The UK is not what I was expecting. People always told me good stories but it's not exactly that. It's a lot different. My advice for others is not to take the same route that I did because I don't want anyone else to experience what I have experienced. Obviously everyone wants to look for a better life, but this is not the right way. I think in Albania people are not really aware of how things really are here. In Albania we don't really have jobs or benefits or stuff like that, so it's difficult. That's why everyone is leaving. They think that it's really easy to come and make a lot of money living here - I believed all these things.

*All names have been changed to protect participants.

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