Windows into darkness

Part of the freelance work I am doing is to write and produce the annual review for a refugee organisation. Today I did a photo shoot of an asylum seeker (someone who has claimed asylum because of persecution in their home country but who has not yet been - and may not be - granted refugee status) growing food on the organisation's allotment.

I can't blip a photo that will end up in the review nor, for now, tell M's terribly sad story, but I took a few extra photos that I hoped would illustrate today's experience a little without compromising privacy. They weren't good enough, so instead this is where luckier people spend their nights - in homes with beds and electricity and their families. M, like many asylum seekers, sleeps on sofas for two weeks at a time then moves on before he outstays his welcome. Today, after he told me a bit of his story, he offered me some of the beans he has grown.

Thanks for the good wishes. I am feeling much better today.