From sleeping rough to studying music: Kent refugee describes journey fleeing south Sudan

Babur arrived in the UK in 2020 after leaving Sudan in 2018
-Credit: (Image: KRAN)


A refugee has opened up about the challenges he faced both during and after his perilous journey to the UK - including sleeping rough on the streets of Canterbury. Babur left South Sudan in 2020 as the country is still experiencing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with millions displaced and many facing famine as a result of a civil war.

After crossing North Sudan, Libya, Malta, Italy and France, Babur eventually managed to seek refuge in England. But the 23-year-old was rapidly hit by a harsh reality following a long waiting process to get his refugee status.

The young man was forced to move around the south east of England and Leeds, including staying in camps in Ashford and Folkestone. But it was not until 2023 that he ended up homeless - which was not his first time on the streets.

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Babur told KentLive: “I stayed on the streets for four months. Because I already experienced homelessness on my journey to the UK, it was not that hard. I had bad experiences sleeping outside.

“But it was still bad for me, because you need an address to apply for jobs and to do other things. So I needed a place to stay.”

'Why am I becoming homeless straight away?'

Babur said he was told to move out of the asylum accommodation he was staying in after getting his refugee status. He said: “I asked myself, ‘why now? why am I becoming homeless straight away' and I thought maybe I’m not going to get a house anymore.

“Maybe things are not going to ease but I just stayed calm and stayed patient.” Babur was no longer entitled to Home Office accommodation.

The young man approached the council and applied for accommodation. With the help of Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN), he managed to find a flat after a four-month stay on the streets. “Here I feel happy, I have my own place, so I can cook what I like , I can go out any time,” he said.

The BBC reported in April that more than 5,000 refugee households were classed as homeless between October and December 2023 in England. It was four times as many as in the same period in 2022.

Babur’s message to other people going through the journey is to remain patient. He told KentLive: “They just need to be patient for a little bit and they have to chase their homeless application. They have to listen to what they tell them. If they give them temporary accommodation, they have to go there. Then they have to wait.

“If you need temporary accommodation and then you go outside, no one will let you into their houses. And if you stay outside for a very long time, you’re going to get ill.

“Your mental health will get worse, and if you go down to that level, maybe you won’t be able to come back again. You will end up taking drugs. They will make you lose yourself.”

'I faced a lot of challenges'

Babur, who hopes to become a music producer in the UK, left his home country as a teenager due to the ongoing conflict. Describing his journey to Britain, he said: “I faced a lot of challenges. I was by myself and I felt scared.

“On my journey to this country, I met some good people who helped me as well. The main challenges were when I was coming on the way, I had to pay money for my journey, and to buy food, and to buy clothes."

He said he did not feel safe in any of the countries he crossed. "I stayed in Libya for a year. I didn’t feel accepted there."

He added: “When I came, I crossed several countries from North Sudan, to Libya, to Malta, to Italy and France. I was scared a lot, in Libya and on the sea, when we were coming on the boat. Everyday I thought it was the last, but it ended up not being the last day.

“I wasn’t feeling safe, I saw other people like me who were asylum seekers, and they did not feel comfortable where they were. I also felt unsafe so I kept going until I found a place that I was happy with.”

'I never felt safe anywhere else like Canterbury'

After crossing the Channel in a small boat, Babur arrived in Dover, he was then taken to London and moved to Napier Barracks in Folkestone. He said: “In the barracks, I didn’t stay there for a long time, just for a couple of months.

“It was good, but because we were the first people at that time there was Covid, so there wasn’t any interview, everything was going slowly. People were upset about that.”

Babur now lives in the Canterbury area. “In Canterbury, I feel safe. I never felt safe anywhere else like here. I feel okay here,” he said.

Babur wants to become a music producer
Babur wants to become a music producer -Credit:KRAN

He is now studying music at a Kent College. “I would love the government to listen to us as well, to listen to our problems. We come here not to do something bad, or do anything bad, we come here to share our dreams,” he added.

Nearly 2.32 million South Sudanese have fled to neighbouring countries, and 2.22m remain internally displaced in South Sudan due to violent conflict, according to the United Nation Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Rishan Tsegay, who fled Sudan when she was 16 and now works as a nurse while supporting refugees with KRAN, said: "It feels the system is going against us rather than helping young people. If you don't know the language, it is hard to figure out where to go."

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