Disabled refugee still homeless more than a year after brutal street attack
‘Nothing has changed. All these promises, they were lies. It feels like I am being punished,’ 43-year-old says
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Your support makes all the difference.A disabled refugee is still living in unsuitable accommodation more than a year after he was brutally attacked in the street.
Atif al-Sharif, a Sudanese national who fled political persecution in his home country in 2010, is currently residing in a hotel in Ilford, where he is unable to shower himself due to the lack of disabled facilities.
When The Independent first reported on his situation in July, he had been living in a different hotel in the same area, facing similar problems.
Days after the story was published, the 43-year-old was moved to another hotel – where he said conditions were “even worse”.
He remains there more than a month later, waiting to be moved into permanent housing.
Describing his living conditions, Mr Sharif, who relies on crutches to walk, said: “I’m sharing a toilet, sharing a shower. I tried to have a shower before and I fell down. I just clean my face in the sink now.
“There is lots of noise from inside and people with drugs, smoking inside their rooms, making the alarm go off, which often wakes me up. I struggle to sleep. Often I just can’t sleep.
“No one comes to visit me. I am so far from my community. I do nothing. I stay inside. Yesterday I tried to open the curtain and it fell down.”
Mr Sharif said he had been told he would be moved into a flat on 12 August, and then that it would be by the end of the month. He added: “Nothing has changed. All these promises, they were lies. It feels like I am being punished.”
His local authority, Tower Hamlets council, said his housing application was being treated as a “high priority” but the property he had been offered was undergoing “major works”.
His housing solicitor, Simon Mullings of Edwards Duthie Shamash Solicitors, said the problems Mr Sharif faces were the symptoms of the “widespread and long term housing crisis”.
“Much legal aid litigation is in part a proxy war between citizens and local authorities when the nub of the issue is actually about poor and heartless central government policy,” he added.
“The delay in this case is on the part of third party housing association and we hope that will be resolved very soon.
“My fear is for those who, like Atif, have a need for housing and care but are rebuffed by hard stretched councils, and who do not find their way to lawyers and journalists.”
The Sudanese refugee reached the UK in 2016, having crossed in a lorry from northern France after spending 11 months living in the so-called Calais Jungle, and was granted refugee status.
Following a period of homelessness, he was eventually placed in a council flat in Hackney and found a job doing construction work, but his living situation made him feel uneasy.
Last August, Mr Sharif was attacked and savagely beaten just outside his home. He woke up two weeks later in hospital with severe injuries, which led to part of his skull having to be removed.
When the 43-year-old was discharged from hospital police said he should not be housed in the borough of Hackney for his own safety.
He was referred to Tower Hamlets council, which temporarily placed him in a room in a hotel in Ilford, saying he would be given permanent accommodation within two months.
More than half a year later, he is still waiting.
A council spokesperson said: “Mr Sharif’s housing application has been treated as a high priority and he has now been made a permanent offer of accommodation.
“We have been advised by Newlon Housing Association that the property has been undergoing some major works and expect a move in date to be confirmed this week. We will be chasing this matter to ensure a speedy resolution.”
A Newlon Housing Trust spokesperson said: “Unfortunately the property Atif al-Sharif could potentially move into has been severely vandalised and requires extensive works. We will carry these out as soon as possible, but due to the level of works required this may take some time.”
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