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Seeking asylum
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Paul Williams and 'Lansana' are both doctors. They live in the same town of Stockton-on-Tees but their lives are very different.
Paul's patients are mostly refugees and asylum seekers, some of whom are people who can't convince the Home Office that they should be allowed to stay in Britain. They don't qualify for any benefits, they can't go home because they're afraid to, so they're trapped.
A charity called the Mary Thomson fund gives them £5 and a bag of groceries to tide them over. In order to find out what life is like for his patients, Paul tried living on the same rations.
In another part of town, 'Lansana', although qualified as a doctor, is one of those who lives on the grocery and £5 handout. He comes from West Africa where he was imprisoned and tortured because his family opposed the present regime there. But he can't convince the Home Office that it's unsafe for him to return and that's why, he too, receives a charity handout.
Kim Normanton met Paul and 'Lansana'.
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