An asylum seeker who is being housed at a West Country hotel with her two children has said that they are not eating due to food that is 'unsuitable' for kids.
Hyre is an asylum seeker from Albania who arrived in the UK in September 2022 with her two children and for the last two months, they have been housed at a hotel which falls within the East Devon area, reports Devon Live.
The 45-year-old claims her children, aged 16 and 14, "don't eat anything from the food that they give" at the hotel. Photos show that in one meal, they were given chicken drumsticks, rice, a burger bap, bananas and dates.
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Hyre said: "My children don't eat anything from the food that they give. The children ask me to cook for them, but I don't have a kitchen to feed my children. I feel very bad when I look at my children without food."
She would like a kitchen so she can cook the foods her children like, she needs accommodation where the family can open the windows.
The Home Office says asylum seekers in hotels are provided with three meals a day which meet NHS Eatwell standards, as well as snacks and water. The Home Office also says that the food "responds to all culture and dietary requirements" and that providers are required to report on delivery and performance on a daily basis. They add that there are weekly surveys for asylum seekers to account for cultural food preferences.
It's not the first time that asylum seekers in Devon hotels have raised concerns about food as those staying at the Esplanade Hotel in Paignton claimed that they were "living like chickens" on meals of a "handful of rice" three times a day.
According to Hyre, the hotel where she is staying does not allow the windows to be opened. While this is typical for many hotels for safety, security and energy efficiency reasons, Hyre says not being able to open the windows is making it a "closed" environment for her and her daughter who are unwell. DevonLive contacted the hotel who were unable to comment for confidentiality reasons.
Hyre said: "My daughter and I are also sick and here we are in a very closed environment because the windows don't open and I've had surgery on my eye twice."
Hyre says she doesn't know English yet but would like to stay in the UK. However, she says she struggles to access local amenities due to the somewhat remote nature of the hotel where she is being housed. According to the Home Office, eligible asylum seekers staying in catered accommodation receive £9.10 per week per household member but Hyre says she can't afford to buy alternative food, clothes and shoes for her children.
She said: "In the UK, we want to stay but everything is very far from here. I'd like a kitchen so that I can have a place to cook for the children and somewhere closer to the village and the schools because we are too far here, we can't stay. I am alone, I have no one to help me. We also need clothes and shoes because I have nothing to buy them with."
A spokesperson for the Home Office said: "Despite the number of people arriving in the UK reaching record levels, we continue to provide support for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute. Asylum-seekers in receipt of catered accommodation are provided with three meals a day along with snacks and water, and a weekly allowance where eligible.
"The food provided in asylum hotels meets NHS Eatwell standards and responds to all culture and dietary requirements. Where concerns are raised about any aspect of the service delivered in a hotel we work with the provider to ensure these concerns are addressed."
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