JRS-UK Community Blog

Diluckshun in front of JRS centre

Diluckshun, staff member at JRS-UK, writes of his own journey and what JRS means to him.

I am Sri Lankan. I claimed asylum when I arrived in the UK on the 18th of September 1999.

My first interview for my asylum claim took place in Liverpool on 19th January 2001. After attending the interview I received a refusal letter from the Home Office. I appealed. There was no reply and my solicitor advised me to leave the matter to one side and continue my studies. My solicitor wrote several letters to the Home Office to grant me permission to work; all were refused without any explanation. After November 2004 I was reporting monthly to the immigration authorities.

My aunt, who has been my guardian since I arrived in the UK, helped me to continue my studies, including a BA in Business and Finance and Level 3 Accountancy (AAT).

I first met JRS in November 2007.

My first contact was to attend the JRS founder’s anniversary celebration. I visited the JRS office and was offered voluntary work. I worked once a week on a Thursday and managed to continue my studies.

My contacts with other asylum seekers like me have been very rewarding. I came to know a lot of their problems and we comforted each other by listening and sharing our problems. This experience made me to be a happier and a stronger person inside. I welcomed each and every individual that I met at JRS and this enabled me not to bother about my asylum status. I became very busy by getting involved with my studies, voluntary work, and other social commitments. In November 2008, I visited my solicitor and asked him to make a fresh appeal. He advised me that he will make a phone call and will find out the present work on my file, which he did. He phoned me to make an appointment to see him and bring three passport size photographs. Soon after that, when I went to report on the 11th December 2008 as usual, the officer at the desk at the reporting centre informed me that I had been granted leave to remain. When I heard the news I was so happy and praised the Lord in silence.

God has blessed me since I arrived in this country and I am really grateful to all who have helped me in many ways. I remember and pray for all asylum seekers whose cases are still pending.

I express my sincere thanks to all of at JRS for offering me a part time paid job as an assistant administrator at JRS in Feb 2009.

Finally, I got married in 2010 and now I am a father of a child.


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Milton, a Jesuit scholastic, undertook to run 26.2 miles to raise money for Jesuit Refugee Service. His fellow scholastic, Kundong, finds our more about what motivated and sustained him.

Why did you choose to run the London Marathon for Jesuit Refugee Service?

Since I came to London I have been part of JRS. I have visited detention centre where I have seen the pain and suffering of the detainees. Refugees and the detainees are subject to ill treatment even in a first world country like the UK where others enjoy the minimum basic rights, but the refugees are deprived of that. Every person has the right to live with dignity and respect. In this peculiar weather of the country (mostly cold and rain!) everybody needs a home to stay to protect themselves from the tough environment. But the elite and the government do not pay enough heed to such basic human needs. But JRS plays the role of being their ‘guardian’. I was moved by that. Hence, I decided to participate in the marathon and to run for JRS.

How did you prepare yourself for the marathon?

Firstly I had my mind fixed and determined that I would run for JRS. Accordingly I started practicing right from the beginning of the year. Initially I ran only for a few kilometres; but gradually I increased the distance on weekends.

How did you feel while and after you ran?

While I stood in the starting line I was excited that I was about to make a history. On the other hand I was a little bit worried whether I would be able to complete or not. Every doubt vanished while I started running. I got more encouragement and inspiration from the fellow runners and the supporters on the roadside. Right from the starting line till the finishing line the whole crowd was cheering. This was a boost for every runner. As I completed I felt mentally relaxed and happy because this event will always be a memory in my life.

What does this marathon mean for you?

This marathon is a good move to raise funds for charities. Thousands of people in need are helped by the funds the charities raised through this marathon. Hence, I think this marathon is a great helper for the needy, for disadvantaged, for sick and other downtrodden people.

Through this marathon, what changes do you want for yourself and for the world?

I feel that I can do something hard for a good cause. I can help the needy in the best possible way I can. The world has a lot of problems; I alone cannot change the whole world. However, the little role I play for the world is a help for it and its people.

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I REMEMBER

In the morning bathing was a hell.

7 o’clock in the morning after bath

She dressed me up and served me breakfast

The school was miles away

And I had no money to pay for my bus ticket.

In the morning walking to school was a hell.

A long sandy road in the noon

Full of hot sand, I remember.

My feet got burnt

When walking back home from school.

However the drop of rain can be heard

And puts a smile on my face as I can walk

Without feeling the heat of the sun in the noon.

DESTITUTE

Each journey entails a hundred possibilities.

I have been thinking all my life

To make my way to this land,

Many of us called the rich land.

But when I reached

This so-called rich land,

It’s like a white storm,

The whole land is so cold

As Arctic

With no home, no shelter.

These two poems by ‘Naz’ appeared in the New Londoners magazine for their Refugee Week 2013 special supplement. You can read an interview with their author and more information about the partnership between JRS-UK and English PEN charity that ran our creative writing workshops here: www.thenewlondoners.co.uk