Refugee Week: A letter from a refugee, five years on

"Please pass my few words to everyone to express how much my family and I are grateful.

"After five years, I wish everyone health and peace.

"As my family and I completed five years in the UK, I would like to thank everyone who has helped and stood by me and my children, since I came to the UK until this moment (people, authorities and charitable organizations) you have made us feel safe and peaceful.

"I was very worried regarding our new life in the United Kingdom because I do not know much about this country, and I do not know much about the people who live in it, and I do not know how they behave with new people who do not know the language, nor the traditions of the country nor the new society, but when I came I was shocked by the amount of respect, appreciation and humanity that these people have, especially those who worked for the comfort of me and my children, I lost my family and left them in Iraq for safety and to preserve my children, but I found my other family here, you were not just employees working to take their monthly salary, on the contrary, you were helping us because of the humanity and a living conscience that you have.

"We felt that we are new people who have the right to a decent and secure life. When I see the joy in your faces at the moment I tell you about something joyful that happened to me and my children, I feel your love for us and I feel your kindness, when I told you that I got a job as an assistant teacher, you were much more happy than my family’s joy in Iraq. You brought me to this job (teacher assistant) is the efforts all the organizations that worked with us and developed my language, you are the ones who developed me and you are the ones who made me take over this work with your advice, your fatigue and your effort.

"I was always ashamed of myself before I got this job when I see you working for our comfort while I am sitting at home without work I can do nothing. What I have now because of your efforts with me, I got the job I had always done in my country for 16 years.

"I promise you that I will develop myself more and more in the future because you are the ones who made this determination inside me.

"All words of thanks and appreciation are not enough to return one part of your virtues to us, I begin by thanking all the organizations that helped us

• The UK Government
• Oxford City Council
• Asylum Welcome
• Connection Support
• City of Oxford College
• Refugee Resource
• Activate Learning
• Aspire

"Secondly, I thank the people who were by our side and they did not leave us with every problem that happened to me and my children in their schools or in our public life.

"Finally, I thank Niran and her family who embraced me as their daughter, they did not leave me from the first day I came here to this day.

"I thank everyone who helped us and I am very sorry if I forgot to mention some people.

"Thanks a lot, and all the best."