for him there among the dead of my new friends. It brings me peace knowing that no matter
where in the world we die, we all end up together after all.
All we craved was normality, and all we were told was wait. So, we waited. We waited for
three months. When they finally moved us, it was to another hotel but this time they put me
in a room and my 2 daughters in another room. Then they felt so far away when it was time
to sleep. It's not the same as being in a home where you can look in on their sleeping heads
through a crack in the door in the middle of the night. I think every parent likes to watch their
children breathing softly for a while and make sure that they have no nightmares. I wanted to
hear them if they needed me.
All we wanted during that time was to be in control of our own lives. When you have nothing
left to your name but your own free will, it becomes very important to you. I longed to go
wherever I wanted, to eat what I wanted and simply live how I wanted so when we were
finally found a home to live in I was delighted for the first time in a very long time. I realised
when I smiled that I hadn't done so in an age and that it felt good to have hope at last.
It's the little things that matter most to me, like saying hello to my neighbours in the morning
or knowing the name of the shopkeeper. It makes me feel like I can be at home here.
The people here are so friendly and kind...they are very optimistic and I feel that they are
helpful with each other. My neighbour noticed that I hadn't taken my rubbish bin out one
morning when I just moved in and took it out for me because I didn't know what day it got
collected, and now we take turns helping each other.
When I tried to register with a doctor they needed information that I could not give, proof of
residence that I did not have, and when I could finally provide something they asked for
something else. The goal posts kept moving and I felt I could never seem to win but I got
there in the end with some help from a community worker.