Philomena and Pearl, Glasgow

Philomena claimed asylum with her daughter Pearl in June 2001. She comes from Pakistan, where she and her family are Roman Catholic and suffered intimidation at the hands of Muslim gangs in Karachi. Her husband has disappeared, and her brother was killed by Muslims. Pearl is now 13, and has developed a pronounced Glaswegian accent over the past five years. Both Philomena and Pearl have been refused asylum, and are waiting for a notice of removal.

"In our country, there is no charity, there are no social workers, they cannot take care of the children. And being a Christian… A lone woman can't survive over there. If we want to survive, we have to convert, we have to marry a Muslim. Life is completely miserable. So I can't go back, I can’t even dream of going back. I would rather try to kill myself here. I will die here but I am not going back there, because I know we cannot survive over there."

A week after I visited them in their flat in a tower block on the eastern side of Glasgow, Philomena called me. She was desperate and crying. She and Pearl had been summoned for an interview with the Home Office, where their fingerprints were taken and preparations were being made to send them home.