Adams’ story
I am a bisexual man from Ghana, in West Africa. In Ghana they do not accept bisexual or gay men. There are some more open-minded people there, but generally society is very homophobic, including much of my family, who wanted me to change. I was violently attacked in the street on several occasions, and I knew it wasn’t safe for me stay in Ghana as an openly bisexual man.
I moved to London in the summer of 2011. At first, I lived in London. It was a difficult experience from the very beginning. Although I was really happy to be in the UK, I still didn’t feel I was safe to be myself and live openly. I didn’t tell anyone about my sexuality. I was really struggling with my mental health. I didn’t feel good about myself or my life, my health started to suffer, and I began to have problems with my memory. The first few years in London were really challenging for me.
“I was violently attacked in the street on several occasions, and I knew it wasn’t safe for me stay in Ghana as an openly bisexual man.”
I moved to Nottingham in 2019, moving from place to place and staying on people’s sofas. I was always sad and didn’t know what to do to improve my life.
It took me a long time to claim asylum, because I was struggling so much with my mental health and my living situation. I first claimed asylum in 2019. One day I went to a police station to ask for advice. I didn’t know where else to go, I didn’t know anything about asylum, or about how to claim asylum. I spent the night at the police station. They contacted the immigration office, and I spoke to an officer the next day. She told me a little bit about the process and explained what I had to do. She asked me about my life, my background, my country, and my story, but it was difficult for me to talk about it.
Adams and Leila Zadeh during the Attitude Pride Awards ceremony in 2022
The process of claiming asylum was so bad. I didn’t have a good lawyer. I couldn’t provide any evidence of my sexual orientation. I had no chance to be connected to any LGBTQI communities or organisations. I didn’t have any evidence of my sexuality, or anything which proved I was in danger because I am bisexual.
The process was slow and difficult. And then in late 2019, I got detained, and spent three months in immigration detention.
Detention was a very negative experience, but while I was detained someone told me about LGBTQI organisations and support networks in the UK. I had no idea these places existed! I asked my lawyer if they could contact some of these organisations for me, but they said no, that it wasn’t appropriate while I was in detention.
In December 2019 my asylum claim was rejected, the refusal letter said I had no evidence of my sexuality or any connection to LGBTQ communities. I challenged the decision of the Home Office, who gave me 14 days to file an appeal. But I was still in detention, so it continued being very difficult to get together any proof of my sexual orientation.
I was released from detention 7 days after the refusal letter, so I only had one week to get any evidence and documents for my appeal. I went to court in early January 2020, but the appeal was dismissed because again I couldn’t gather the right evidence to prove that I am LGBTQ. My lawyer had also made a mistake with some of my personal details, so this just made the whole process longer and more difficult.
“Detention was a very negative experience, but while I was detained someone told me about LGBTQI organisations and support networks in the UK. I had no idea these places existed!”
After that I had to travel to Croydon, from Nottingham, once a week, to report to my immigration officer. On one occasion they arrested me again, and I was detained in Gatwick airport for 5 weeks. I was eventually granted bail and released just before lockdown started.
I tried to claim asylum again, but they said my word alone wasn’t credible, and they rejected the evidence I did provide, because there had been mistakes made with my ID and other documents by my previous lawyers. I told them lots of stories about me which prove my sexuality, but they didn’t believe any of them. All I had was myself and my sexuality, but they said that wasn’t enough. It’s so difficult to get evidence of your sexuality, especially as a black African man. No-one wants to associate with you, so you can’t be out, or live openly as a bisexual man.
Everything in my life was chaotic and hectic. I had no money. Some days I was so poor I couldn’t eat. I spent my time just walking around Nottingham and doing nothing. My life was so bad. I had to rely on friends to help me every week. My accommodation was so bad. Sometimes I had to stay on sofas at friends’ houses. I had no privacy, no freedom. I didn’t want to take advantage of people’s kindness, so I moved around a lot.
Then I remembered what the person in detention told me, and I started looking for LGBTQ organisations which might be able to help me. And thank God I found Rainbow Migration! They helped me so much, from the very first phone call. I give thanks to them all, especially my Support Workers and the legal advisors. I joined the men’s support group, and it was so helpful to speak to other people in my situation.
“Thank God I found Rainbow Migration! They helped me so much, from the very first phone call. I give thanks to them all, especially my Support Workers and the legal advisors. I joined the men’s support group, and it was so helpful to speak to other people in my situation.”
The Rainbow Migration legal service worked so hard to get me a lawyer. My experiences with lawyers had been so negative before, but I finally got a good lawyer thanks to Rainbow Migration. She was the first lawyer to talk to me about my mental health issues, and how important they were, not just for my case, but for me personally. I hadn’t really thought about it like that before, and I am still in therapy now. My mind is not stable, I forget things easily. Often, I can’t remember details, or things I’ve said or been told, from even the day before. Throughout my entire time in the UK I have struggled with my mental health, and it’s one of the reasons why it took me so long to claim asylum. It has impacted every single thing I do. My lawyer was the first person to recognise this, and she managed to get me a therapist. She was patient with me and treated me with respect. She made allowances for my mental health. Previous lawyers had not been very helpful at all, but this new lawyer I got through Rainbow Migration made me feel so much better about myself and my asylum case.
I was granted asylum in 2022. It was such a relief! It has made me feel so much better. Now I can start making plans. I have children and I need to bring them here to be with me. I went back to school to get my education, and I want to go into mental health support and healthcare. I am looking for work experience, and to get all my qualifications. I want to work hard! I also want to start my own photography business. Back in Ghana I was a professional photographer and I really want to start being creative again.
I still have a long way to go and lots of challenges, even though I have the legal right to stay in the UK now. I need to sort out my accommodation, as my current place is only temporary. My Support Worker at Rainbow Migration has helped me so much with accommodation, and I appreciate everything they have done for me. My next big goal is to get permanent, safe housing, and try and start my new life. I want to take care of my children and work hard for a better life.
I need to give thanks to Rainbow Migration for all their support; they are marvellous! I don’t know how I can thank them. In July 2022 I went to an awards ceremony with Rainbow Migration and was interviewed about my experience as an LGBTQI person in the asylum system. It was an amazing experience! It has really helped me feel better. I almost felt famous! Seeing myself in a magazine as an out bisexual man has been such a positive experience, and I cannot thank Rainbow Migration enough for the opportunity. I owe them so much, because they have really helped me turn my life around.
This story was originally posted at: https://www.rainbowmigration.org.uk/stories/adams-story/
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