Asylum seeker reflects on 12 months in Southampton hotel

After fleeing his home in the Caribbean, the 27-year-old arrived in the UK in September last year.

The need for emergency accommodation brought him to Southampton - in a hotel where he's been staying since January.

Having spent a calendar year in the city, Tevin has spoken to the Echo about his experiences – largely confined to his hotel room – and how he hopes to fulfil his dream of going to college.

He said: “I wouldn’t have thought 12 months ago that I’d still be here in the hotel.

“I’m trying to be patient, but it can be difficult.”

Tevin Padilla has been living in a Southampton hotel for nearly a year (Image: Tevin Pedilla)

Tevin fled his home in Trinidad and Tobago, where same sex intimacy was banned until 2018, after falling out with his family over his sexuality.

Having sought refuge in Holland – where his asylum case was denied – Tevin relocated to the UK, originally moving in with a friend in Newport, Wales.

While in Southampton, Tevin has struggled to adapt to life living in a hotel with few familiar faces.

He was originally given his own hotel room before demand increased, forcing him to share his room with two other asylum seekers who couldn’t speak English.

Later he was able to move into a smaller room by himself but faced several problems – including a toilet that didn’t flush and bath water that wouldn't go down the plughole.

He said: “I prefer to be in my own personal space so I was happy to move rooms, but it was bad at first.

“Straight away my toilet wasn’t flushing, so it felt like I was moved into a room that hadn’t been checked.

“The windows weren’t closing, and if I went for a bath the water wouldn’t wash away. It was like I was swimming in my own dirt – I had to buy a plunger – because there wasn’t one I could use in the hotel.”

Asylum seeker Tevin Padilla (Image: Tevin Pedilla)

Fifteen months on, Tevin is still waiting on the Home Office to approve his asylum status.

But in November, he was finally granted a work permit, giving him the right to work in the UK.

“It’s a relief after a year to have finally got my work permit,” he said.

“There’s a list of things we can and can’t do, so I’m having to apply for mainly low-income jobs like cleaning, but I just want to be able to work.”

Tevin also has ambitions of attending college, taking classes in electrical restoration, though he has to wait for the application process to reopen in the summer.

While Tevin waits for his asylum application to be approved – meaning he could move into shared accommodation – he hopes to find a job and begin a new life in the city.

He added: “I don’t know what will happen in the future – you see in the news there’s the barge (the Bibby Stockholm) and a few guys here have moved to a camp in Dover.

“I’m just hoping for the best.”