Speaking about delays on asylum decisions and the increasing backlog Farzad says:

It basically deactivates you. Even if you are an active person at home, when you come here you don’t have a chance to participate in anything. I know people, on top of their traumas, they become traumatised even more during this period.

You are basically stripped of all your basic rights, it’s not a good time. I was feeling bad, I was ready to work. I was hearing on the news, farmers needed people to pick fruit, there was rubbish on the streets, I was happy to do that, but you’re not allowed.

I’m sure there are better ways to deal with the situation. It was alright for a bit, at least you know there’s a roof over your head, but after a while, you really need to activate people…

I just visited the hotel I was in. The situation has got, like, twenty times worse than before. We were OK then. Now it has become like a military camp for refugees, people are depressed, they are isolated, they have no chance to go out, they are being checked on a daily basis, twice.

All the other organisations that used to go there, and help them, they don’t do that anymore because of lack of funds, or they do it in a different way, sometimes providing food and clothes.

I think we are going in the opposite to the right way.