In June, I visited a man named Patson Muzuwa in a care home in a former mining village near Durham. The centre had spacious bedrooms, friendly staff and an activity room decorated with a lifesize King Charles cut-out and union flags. At 56, Muzuwa was the youngest resident; most were elderly and had dementia. The local council had moved him here temporarily a few weeks before, after his medical needs made it impossible for him to stay with his son.
Muzuwa has lived at least 10 lives. As a young man in Zimbabwe, he became a member of the main opposition party to President Robert Mugabe’s autocratic rule and found himself hounded by security forces. After he resettled in the UK, he became a key part of the Zimbabwean community, organising resistance to Mugabe from abroad. Meanwhile, his personal life has veered between extraordinary highs and lows, and with his charm he has left a mark on almost everyone he has met. His story is a poignant reminder of the pain of political exile from your home country, and the challenges that face asylum seekers in the UK, even after they have been granted leave to stay.
