Agnes is a mother, grandmother, sister, wife, and friend. In her home country of Cote d’Ivorie, Agnes was a high-ranking member of a political party, and personal assistant to the First Lady – a career which she loved and excelled at.
When civil war broke out in 2010, Agnes had to flee to save her life. Her friends and colleagues were being arrested and killed and, because of her political position, Agnes knew her life was also in danger. Agnes made the long, dangerous, and difficult journey through forestry to the neighbouring country where she was able to board a flight to the UK. Agnes knew the UK well – she had visited before on diplomatic duties, had friends here, and her children were currently studying in the UK. For this reason, Agnes was confident that the UK would offer her protection and safety until she could return home.
As the civil war continued, it soon became apparent that it wouldn’t be safe for Agnes to return to Cote d’Ivorie, so she claimed asylum in the UK, hoping to begin to rebuild her life in safety. This however marked the start of a long and difficult seven years which saw Agnes become homeless, destitute, and detained.
One day when Agnes went to report to the Home Office, she was arrested and taken to Yarl’s Wood, a detention centre in Bedfordshire. Agnes had no idea where she was going, or why she was being taken there. The fear of being deported to her home country stopped Agnes from sleeping, sick with worry and stress. For others, the stress of detention led them to attempt suicide.
Agnes was detained at Yarl’s Wood for over three months, separated from her loved ones, isolated, and cut off from the world. Eventually, Agnes was released and was granted her refugee status. The Home Office finally believed her story, the same story she had been telling all along, yet they still made her wait for over seven years to finally receive protection. To this day, being detained has an impact on Agnes and her mental health.
During that time, Agnes was homeless and reliant on foodbanks. Despite her own struggles, Agnes has always given back to her local community, becoming a source of strength and inspiration for other women seeking safety in the UK.
No-one chooses to be an asylum-seeker. I never thought it would happen to me. I suffered so much for no reason. I won’t let any other women suffer like me.
For over five years, Agnes volunteered at Women with Hope in Birmingham, a small charity supporting destitute refugee and asylum-seeking women through a range of activities and services. For much of this time, Agnes was the main volunteer at Women with Hope, organising weekly meetings, activities, and trips where women seeking safety could come together to develop friendships and build solidarity in a supportive, safe, and welcoming environment. These days, Agnes continues to support Women with Hope when she can and served on their Board of Trustees for a few years, offering her wisdom, knowledge, and experience to support the young charity through becoming established.
Agnes also spends her time campaigning for women like her. Agnes says ‘People claiming sanctuary don’t deserve detention. It breaks down families and destroys society… I don’t want what happened to me to happen to any of my sisters.’ Agnes uses her own experience of detention to raise awareness of detention and to highlight the harms of such. Agnes has spoken at protests, to the local and national media, to parliamentarians, and started her own petition against Derwentside, the detention centre for women in County Durham, which has over 17,000 signatures. Despite the negative impact being detained has on her own health, Agnes is a selfless and determined campaigner, motivated by her determination to ensure other women aren’t harmed by detention.
Agnes also uses her experience of speaking out to share skills, motivate, and inspire other women to become confident spokespeople. Through the Spokesperson Network, Agnes supports a small group of refugee and asylum-seeking women to develop their knowledge and skills on how to speak out, advocate and campaign for change – whilst maintaining their personal boundaries and protecting their wellbeing.
On a less formal basis, Agnes continually gives back to her community through supporting individual women through the gruelling asylum process. Whether is it through words of comfort and encouragement, wellbeing check-ins, or being a friendly voice at the end of the phone, Agnes has become a source of strength for many women still navigating the asylum process.
Throughout all the ways Agnes gives back to her community, her resilience, warmth, and passionate nature consistently shine through. She is highly trusted amongst women in both Women with Hope and Women for Refugee Women’s network and is often fondly referred to as ‘Mama Agnes’. She is a pillar of community, a source of strength, a powerful campaigner, and a friend to many.
Agnes has been through unimaginable trauma but has channelled her experiences into a positive force – to make change for other women like her. Agnes says, ‘No-one chooses to be an asylum-seeker. I never thought it would happen to me. I suffered so much for no reason. I won’t let any other women suffer like me.’
