The 77-year-old widow giving home to refugees

VAL Johnstone lives in a small, two-bedroom house with her dog, two cats and, on any given night, a refugee who would otherwise be on the streets.

The 77-year-old widow from Middle Assendon hosts one refugee at a time for up to two weeks to give them the time they need to apply for jobs and housing once their application for asylum has been approved.

Until August refugees granted asylum had 28 days to find a job, accommodation and open a bank account before their housing support was withdrawn.

Then the Government reduced the “move-on” period to seven days, leading to warnings by charities that up to 50,000 refugees would become homeless by the end of this year.

This is where temporary hosts like Val step in.

She explains: “They haven’t been able to work for two years, so they have no money.

“No landlord is going to take you as you need to have a bank account and an address for a job. How can you have a job when you haven’t got an address? All the things that they need will take at least three weeks.

“I’ve got a little spare bedroom. I’d rather they were in there and able to have a shower and something to eat. They’d be out in the cold, you know.

“I can get them off the street, give them a shower, a meal and two weeks to get their bank account sorted and everything else set up.”

One of the refugees hosted by Val is 28-year-old Abdul, who arrived in the UK in July 2020 after fleeing the war in Yemen.

Two years later he obtained UK residency and the right to remain but was unable to find a job or a flat before the time ran out in his supported accommodation, so he ended up homeless.

Val met Abdul through Care4Calais in Reading — her daughter, Sam Jonkers, is the regional lead for the charity in the Thames Valley.

She recalls: “I asked him, ‘What’s your address? and he said, ‘The streets’.

“It was a cold weekend and I said, ‘Oh, I am sorry’. I came away and said to Sam, ‘I can’t bear it. We’re going to go back for him. Tomorrow can we go and pick him up?’ and that’s what I did.”

Back at Val’s house, the pair began to plan how Abdul could get employment and a flat.

He had previously been a security guard and spoke many languages, so Val suggested they contact hotels used to house refugees to see if any were in need of additional workers.

They spoke to the manager of the hotel where Abdul had been staying before he was moved to Reading and found he was looking for a security guard.

“We sat here for hours working it out and within three days we got him into this hotel in Skegness,” says Val.

“He said: ‘Oh, I’ll have to take a taxi’.

“I said: ‘You don’t know how much a taxi would cost to Skegness,” so we got him a train. We found a really cheap train going early and there he was in Skegness.”

Val and Abdul are still in contact almost daily.

He says: “It was a great feeling to live with Mama Val. I felt like I was living with my family and not alone in this country.

“We exchanged conversations and stories, had breakfast and dinner together, visited her lovely friends.

“I stayed with her for a few days. She helped me get a job.

“Currently, my situation is very good. I thank Sam and Mama Val for all the help they gave me and advice in building my future life.”

Val first began supporting refugees when she moved to a farmhouse in Varen in southern France with her late husband, Malcolm, for their retirement.

She was known in the local village for having a “soft heart” because she would regularly rescue animals, so when refugees came to the area she was asked by officials at the town hall if she would volunteer to support them.

The couple agreed and housed 17 refugees in their home and the gite that was attached to it. Over the years they ended up supporting about 100 people while their asylum claims were being
processed.

It was here that the nickname “Mama Val” originated as the young men looked up to her as a mother figure.

Val remembers those years fondly, watching them playing in the swimming pool with her grandchildren, or enjoying card games under the trees in her garden.

They would have parties where one of the refugees, Besha, a chef, would cook pizzas for everyone.

At Christmas, the house was always full, which presented Val with challenges.

One year, she had been promised some Halal turkeys for their dinner, which turned out not to be.

Val recalls: “Half the table were Muslims and were all up in arms so they downed their knives and forks and refused to eat it.

“There was a big row with the others, who were saying, ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake, just eat it’.

“Well, there were lots of vegetables and lots of nice puddings, so they didn’t need to eat it.

“It was really funny. Afterwards Malc said: ‘Oh God, it’s like being at home with the family’.”

Of the initial group of 17 refugees, 15 were granted asylum in France and the others were accepted by Italy.

Val, who moved back to Britain two years ago, visited many of them in Toulouse this summer.

She says: “They have got jobs, speak French, have married — some of them French girls, some of them other Muslims — and they’ve starting having babies. It was just wonderful.”

Val insists that it is not just the refugees who benefit from the hosting relationship. One 18-year-old refugee, who is currently living in Reading and applying for asylum, is passionate about keeping fit and has started coaching her.

Val says: “He’s worried that I’m not fit enough, so he’s giving me exercises. It’s absolutely hilarious.

“He’s now set on me doing press- ups. Well, what he doesn’t know is if I get on the floor, I can’t get back up.”

Smiling, she adds: “He’s so lovely. You want to mother him.”

This Christmas, she will be hosting Besha’s brother who is now in
Britain.

She is especially close to Besha, who she says went “above and beyond” to support her husband as he was dying of cancer in hospital in Albi.

“Malcolm was in for quite a long time, in and out. He had a stroke towards the end. Besha used to go to feed Malcolm his tea. He’s such a lovely lad.”

Val finds a great sense of fulfilment through the “brilliant” friendships she has made over the years but is all too aware of the horrors that the refugees lived through which brought them to her door.

“They’ve suffered,” she says. “A lot of them have got trauma. I haven’t met one who hasn’t had a death in the family.

“You’re not meant to ask them things, it’s up to them if they want to tell you. You wait for them. It’s part of the hosting.

“We’d sit talking at night and we have some fun, but there’s always that element of missing somebody or wondering if they’re alive.”

One refugee she hosted, Qurban, was forced to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban threatened to kill him, leaving his pregnant wife and small son.

His wife asked him to send money for her to go to hospital but as he was unable to work he had none and their unborn baby died.

When Qurban was granted asylum, Val “begged” her friends for the money for a visa and plane ticket for his wife and child to join him.

She raised the money and the family were safely reunited in France.

Val met the family and their new baby during her visit in the summer.

She says: “Qurban came with his wife to our hotel and she bought a big platter of food for us and the little baby. I really feel they’re family. They’re just lovely.”

The refugees that Val hosts become part of village life for the time that they are living with her.

Initially, she says, some eyebrows were raised at the number of good-looking young men entering and leaving her house but the villagers have been welcoming of her guests, with many offering lifts into Henley, or stopping for a chat while out walking their dogs.

She puts requests for items that refugees need on the village
WhatsApp group and says she is always overwhelmed by the amount of support.

“The village is brilliant with me, really,” says Val. “I ask all the time for coats and shoes and now I am asking for tents. I always say leave it at the front door if I’m out because I’ve got a bit of a porch.

“The number of times I go out and when I come back there are packages at the front door… it really is the most wonderful village.”

Val is also a member of the Henley Refugee Support Group, which provides support, including English lessons and computer lessons.

She has been organising a Christmas party for refugees in the area, which will take place at the Quaker Meeting House in Henley on Thursday.

Some volunteers will pick up the guests from their accommodation and drop them off again by car while others are preparing food
and providing presents or
entertainment.

Val describes hosting as “life-changing” and says that if that initial group of refugees had not arrived in her village in France, she would never have known anything about their lives. She says: “It’s so interesting to follow their countries and what’s happening there and learn a bit about the world.

“We’ve had people from Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and you learn about their countries.

“I ask them: ‘Tell me, is your country beautiful?’ and, of course, they all love their countries. They don’t want to be here, they want to be safe in their own country.”

Val hopes that other people might consider giving hosting a go.

She says: “I have a small house and I’ve only got one bathroom but it works for a short time.

“I was thinking, ‘Why wouldn’t people do it?’ I thought ‘Because they’re frightened of them.’ But, honestly, they’re kids like your grandchildren or children. They’re just the same and they are adorable, most of them.

“What we really want is for people who would never even think about it to think. ‘Well, if that old woman with a small house can do it, why couldn’t I?’

“Even if it’s just for three days to give them a shower and a few good meals it would help. And it is Christmas, for heaven’s sake.”

To join the Henley Refugee Support Group visit www.facebook.com/groups/
8768860856473542/

For more information about hosting, contact the charity Refugees at Home at https://refugeesathome.org