Stories

One of the hardest things you can do is flee your country by yourself and create a whole new life, with no friends, no relatives and no guidance. I have often doubted myself, but I always held on to my father’s belief in me.

All my life, I have wished for my country’s situation to improve. I did not voluntarily move away from home. I did not choose to be here. I was forced to leave, because it is not safe for me.

My life in Iran was never simple. I come from a beautiful green city near the sea where I had everything - a loving family, successful business, dreams for the future. I was a fitness trainer who owned my own gym - a space where women could feel free and strong.

I work in the NHS at Charing Cross Hospital as a healthcare worker these days, looking after people. I’m training to be a nurse and can’t wait to qualify. But it’s been a very long journey to get to do what I love.

When we first met Dori and her two young children during the pandemic, the family were traumatised from their experiences in their home country of Albania and extremely isolated in their cramped hotel room which they had barely left for months on end.