Costs for Refugee Journalist Family Reunification

Aim

Layla's a refugee journalist in the UK, whose husband & child still live in danger back home in Syria.Layla needs your help to pay towards

Layla is a Syrian journalist who came to the UK in 2018, fleeing the war. Many journalists have been killed in Syria by different factions involved in the conflict. Layla used to organise and report on stories of atrocities committed by these different factions.

For her own safety, Layla made the difficult decision to come to the UK, leaving her baby daughter and husband behind. 

After a long period of uncertainty relating to her asylum application, Layla was recently granted refugee status. She had a hard time waiting for the decision and suffered from anxiety and depression. Layla's husband faced worse conditions back home in Syria, both materially and psychologically, due to their separation and to the deteriorating situation in the area where they live.

With her refugee status, Layla can now reunite with her husband and child.

Layla's husband and child have to first fly to Jordan and then submit their biometrics there. They are expected to do this by the middle of March, but Layla is struggling to pay for their tickets to Jordan. She also needs to pay for her ticket to Jordan so that she can meet them and they can rent an apartment while waiting for their visas to fly to the UK. 

Besides the accommodation and food costs while waiting for their visas, she also needs to pay for flights to the UK for the three of them. There are two grant-giving organisations for this purpose. However, one is closed to new applications and the other has tightened its criteria. Layla has tried to raise money through various journalistic charities, but has not heard back from any of them. Refugee family reunion visas are normally granted with 30 days for the family to enter the UK; this hasn’t left Layla enough time to seek the funds from additional sources. 

Layla urgently needs to raise £3,000. She has no way of paying for these flights herself, especially in such a short space of time.

Any money that you can spare will go towards reuniting Layla with Josef (her husband) and Mary (their daughter), enabling them to rebuild their lives together in safety.

Here is a breakdown of the costs. 

Accommodation in Amman: an average of £450 a month (apartment for the three of them). 

Food for the three of them: an average of £300 a month while in Amman. 

Flights from Syria to Amman:

Layla's husband: £480

Layla's daughter: £360

Layla's flights from London to Amman: around £290 

Flights for the three of them from Amman to London: around £900

Plus, unexpected costs such as quarantine hotels and Covid testing.

* the names and locations were changed due to the sensitivity of the issue. Layla believes that there is a strong possibility that her family are still in danger and that any identifying details could lead to their capture.

This project successfully funded on 30th March 2021