A man who left his motherland to save his life after his family were killed said asylum seekers "are seen as animals". Nabil Salum, who currently lives in a Nottingham hotel, said he joined a group who were looking to escape Somalia when he was only a teenager.
Mr Salum, aged 22, said that leaving his homeland "was not a choice, but a matter of life or death". He has been to countries like Germany, the Netherlands and France, seeking to obtain a document that will allow him to stay somewhere safe, get a job, and make a life for himself.
He is one of the "many" asylum seekers currently living in the Best Western Plus Nottingham Westminster Hotel on Mansfield Road, near Carrington. Mr Salum said he arrived in Nottingham around four months ago.
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He said: "My family are all dead. Basically, in Somalia, if you do not join the army you are dead. If you are against the leaders, you die."
By November last year, the United Nations had recorded at least 613 civilian deaths and 948 injuries, according to reports. Mr Salum added: "I left my country because I wanted to stay alive.
"Sometimes it's coming to my head that my family are dead and I have no one. It is sometimes that I try to forget."
He said he is grateful to be in Nottingham, adding: "I love the city, I love the people. I hope I will stay here and that I will not get transferred somewhere else. I have never experienced any racism here. I feel like the UK really cares."
Mr Salum is an asylum seeker, meaning that he is not entitled to work in the UK. He added: "We get £8 a week. Sometimes I go to the shop to get food.
"We get food at the hotel. In the morning, we would have bread, milk, beans and salad. For lunch, we get things like chips, bread, salad and then dinner is always rice," he added.
"I miss my food from home, but we do not have a choice. I miss my country, my homeland - I really miss my parents. I get very sad when I see families walking in the city because I do not have that. But I am grateful - I am just lucky and happy I am alive."
Mr Salum was speaking outside the Westminster Hotel to Nottinghamshire Live, and added: "It is good to be able to talk about this. I wish more people knew our stories.
"Everyone in this hotel has their own story. Asylum seekers are being seen as animals - we always get transferred, we cannot work, we cannot stay in one place."
Ali Adala, an asylum seeker from Egypt, was just finishing a conversation on the phone with his son when approached by Nottinghamshire Live. The 30-year-old, who was speaking Arabic, used a phone app to translate the questions and answer accordingly.
He arrived to Nottingham four months ago and said: "I have four children. I came here because of the corruption in my country. The situation there is really bad.
"But I really like it here. It is a safe and secure country. I am very grateful - praise to God. People here are very nice."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "The number of people arriving in the UK who require accommodation has reached record levels and has put our asylum system under incredible strain. The use of hotels to house asylum seekers is unacceptable – there are currently more than 45,500 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £5.6 million a day.
"We engage with local authorities as early as possible whenever sites are used for asylum accommodation and work to ensure arrangements are safe for hotel residents and local people."
A number of hotels are being used to house asylum seekers, including the Britannia in Maid Marian Way as well as the Novotel Nottingham Derby in Long Eaton.
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