People who have fled persecution and violence in their home countries are facing the risk of homelessness, destitution and desperation in Cyprus.
Asylum-seekers are often lost upon arrival, and have nowhere to go.
Robert*, Linda and Simon* arrived in Cyprus in March from Cameroon, and had never met each other before. Since their arrival they have had to share close quarters for several weeks, sleeping on the floor and in an armchair in one room, together with five more people in a similar predicament as theirs, as an alternative to being on the streets of Nicosia with nothing.
The issue of homelessness among asylum-seekers in Cyprus is growing at an alarming rate. People who have fled persecution and violence in their home countries are facing the risk of homelessness, destitution and desperation upon their arrival in the Republic, due to critical shortcomings in the national asylum and reception policies. For most, Cyprus is not even the intended destination country. The aim for most asylum-seekers is to reach other specific European countries, where they may have relatives waiting for them; however they end up in Cyprus misinformed and misled by smugglers and traffickers. These individuals are ending up completely reliant on luck, on the kindness of strangers, on the small number of charity organisations that have their own limited resources, and on the mercy of new friends made along the way, just in order to survive.
Upon arriving in Nicosia, Simon, aged 34, was alone with nothing but the clothes on his back, and had nowhere to go. He explains how he slept the first night at the bus station, since he did not know what else to do. His second and third nights he slept under a bridge with a group of 8 other homeless people from India. “They saw I was homeless, and invited me to join them so that at least I wouldn’t be alone on the streets,” Simon recalls. On the third day he asked a passer-by for help. “He gave me three Euros to get a bus to and from the immigration office, and directions how to get there,” he says. “There by luck I met Linda, and since then we are trying to help each other.” Simon explained that he would like to be able to work and support himself. “I’ll work anywhere,” he says. Feeling insecure in the temporary shelter he had found so far, Simon explains: “We are confused. We may be asked to leave any time now. What will happen to us?”
Linda, aged 22, is a graduate of Journalism and Mass Communications from her native Cameroon. Of her hopes for the future she shares that she would love to continue her education and build a career in her field. When we met, Linda had been sleeping in an armchair in a room with seven other people, grateful not to be on the street, but scared and confused about her circumstances, and what would be next. “I began to wonder if I will survive in such conditions. That moment I realized my big dream of a better and comfortable life out of my bloody war zone country will never come to pass. I slept on the chair and every morning I was waking up with body pains. I thought to myself it was better I die at home by gunshot than to die in a strange land little by little painfully.”
“I could barely eat all these days. When I got to welfare they gave me a form to fill and also gave me emergency money. I was asked to come for coupons after a month’s time. I could get some food from Red Cross and some clothes to wear but also I needed a better place to sleep. It has been a nightmare to find a place – each and every number I called turned me down, saying they don’t want asylum-seekers in their house, or they don’t want refugees or black people in their homes. Even in the way people look at you when you ask, for example, for directions – like you’re an outcast. When I was in Cameroon, I used to hear about racism, but this is the first time I have experienced it in my life. It makes me feel so small. We were so welcoming to white people in our country. UNHCR has been of great help to me, they provide us with information and also moral support; they encouraged me and gave me hope.” – Linda, 22 years old, Cameroon
Linda is now sharing a small room with a friend, but still relies on the goodwill of others in order to get by. © UNHCR/Cyprus.
The issue of homelessness follows the deterioration of the reception conditions for asylum-seekers over the last two years. UNHCR has repeatedly voiced its concerns over the low level of assistance for needy asylum-seekers that is provided in vouchers and is equivalent to less than half of the Minimum Guaranteed Income (MGI) that Cypriots and recognized refugees in similar situations receive. What this means is that with the 100 Euro asylum-seekers get as rental allowance, they have major difficulties in finding any decent accommodation under the existing housing market. The situation is aggravated by the fact that single asylum-seekers are no longer admitted to the Kofinou Reception Centre, which, even when operating at full capacity only houses less than 5% of the asylum-seekers in the country. The vast majority of asylum-seekers in Cyprus therefore reside outside the Centre.
Linda explains that everyone in the group had been trying desperately to find accommodation, and looking online and calling agents and landlords every day. “But it is really difficult to get a house; the first question we get when we call is ‘Where are you from?’ I don’t understand why people would give you a house based on your colour. I feel less of a human.” Through a stroke of luck, she made a friend who has been kind enough to invite her to share her apartment with her for the time being. After six weeks of uncertainty she feels relieved and has just started to receive coupons in order to be able to purchase some minimal food supplies. “To date I don’t have a place of my own, and remain under the mercy of some friends right now.”
“Getting refugees on their feet as quickly as possible is in the best interests of not only the people concerned, but also the host community,” said Damtew Dessalegne, UNHCR Representative in Cyprus. It is essential, therefore, that as a matter of urgency the current policy on the reception conditions for asylum-seekers is reviewed so that the assistance provided to asylum-seekers is set at a level that ensures a standard of living adequate for the health of applicants and sufficient to ensure their subsistence, as required by the EU law.
Robert, aged 28, did not choose to end up in Cyprus, and worries about his survival and his future here based on his experience in Cyprus so far. He explains that he has been given emergency cash assistance of 120 Euros from the social welfare services, once in the two months he has been in Cyprus. He was given no further information, coupons or any other form of assistance to find accommodation or to have any means to survive, despite several return visits to the SWS on a weekly basis. Robert is a tall young man, and yet walking around in Nicosia he feels invisible. “People just ignore you,” he says. “They pretend they can’t hear you when you say ‘hello, excuse me’ and they just keep walking.”
Given the complete absence of systematic support, Robert is dependent entirely on goodwill; he is given temporary shelter by a family living locally. There he sleeps on the floor, and relies on charity for food and clothing. While he is young and healthy and willing to work to support himself, Robert’s means of survival and his future remain unknown.
*Names changed for protection reasons
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