23rd April 2020

My name is Haidy and I would like to share my experiences with you all. I will tell you how the situation that is happening across the world is affecting me and my family.  

 

In the beginning it was so hard for me because it was very difficult to find items in the shops, and especially hard when you do not have much money. We have £5 a day for each person so I have to get everything I need for my family with that small amount. We can’t even drink the tap water because when it comes out of the tap it is white, we have to buy bottled water. We have told our housing provider lots of times but nothing has been done so far. In the beginning I struggled to find pasta, rice, and flour in particular. I usually bake at home because we don’t have a lot to do and it keeps me and my daughter busy. It’s also a lot cheaper than buying pre-made food! When lockdown started, I was also struggling to find nappies - I used to buy a day bus ticket and travel round all the local supermarkets to find the specific nappies he’s not allergic to. I used to think that the cheapest brand was just used by us asylum seekers, so I was surprised when I saw British people buying them too. Usually there’s a lot of the brand I buy in the shops, but at the beginning of the lockdown there was hardly any.

 My daughter and I made this fruit cake together

The lockdown has affected my kids in so many ways, including psychologically. They are finding it hard because they cannot live the normal lifestyle they are used to. It’s also hard for me because seeing your kids suffering and not even being able to take them to the park makes you feel awful and stressed. Sometimes they ask questions and you don’t have the answers because you’re just so tired of everything.

 

It was really good when the kids could go to school. My son was struggling with his speech but going to nursery  helped him, I noticed lots of positive changes in him. He found it hard to settle for a while but then he started to love it. He understood me when I spoke to him before but after he started going his behaviour changed so much - now he listens, give me attention when I talk, he plays more too. Before nursery he didn’t play with any toys but now he does!

Tiramisu – I made this when my children were asleep! 

Seafood pasta - the kids love this one!

The lockdown is also really hard for my daughter. I’m trying to explain everything to her about coronavirus but in simple ways. I’m trying to keep her away from the news and just watch it when she’s asleep otherwise she’ll ask lots of difficult questions. I’m explaining to her that we need to eat loads of fruit and vegetables and drink orange juice so that we stay healthy. She’s getting bored being at home. She says she just wants to go back to normal and see her friends because she loves school! To keep her busy we’ve been cooking, colouring and writing together. My friend gave us a whiteboard so we’ve been designing fashion and clothes on it. I was so surprised at how well she designed the dresses. She even said to me that if we have any parties to go to I should ask her for help on how to dress and style the clothes I’m wearing because she’s a ‘fashion girl’! Her wardrobe is so messy because she changes 25 times a day, every 20 minutes she changes her clothes!

Cookies I made with my daughter this week 

Coronavirus has even affected my asylum case. Before the lockdown I was preparing to lodge my appeal and start my case again with my solicitor. Because of the lockdown I can’t meet my solicitor which is a problem because all the paperwork needs to be signed. In the beginning the solicitor would send the documents to me, I’d sign them and post them back. I stopped this because I was going out too much and it’s not possible with the children. I was worried about them touching things when we were out - my son has allergies so I’m really worried about taking him outside. I have so many thoughts about how my case will go when we are out of lockdown; I’m worried if they’re going to accept it, how long it will take to get an answer, so many things.  

 

There’s so many ways coronavirus and the lockdown has affected us but we cannot do anything, we just have to wait. We hope this situation will finish soon and we can get back to our normal lives.

#covidstories