Love Island star Nas Majeed launches film to counter negative perceptions of young male refugees in the UK.
Ahead of International Migrants Day on 18th December, TV Personality Nas Majeed is working with Migrant Help, the charity providing support to refugees, asylum seekers and survivors of modern slavery, to raise awareness of the challenges young men seeking asylum in the UK face.
The film is part of Migrant Help’s “I Have Dreams” campaign, which seeks to shed light on, and support, the dreams of vulnerable people in the UK who have been victims of exploitation or displacement, as well as give them a voice.
Over 18,000 young men arrived in the UK in the past year seeking safety and they are facing a future of uncertainty this Christmas.
Whilst they are often met with prejudice and hostility, these are vulnerable young people who have barely reached adulthood and have often witnessed unimaginable horrors.
In the film, Nas meets with two young refugees Eduardo and Osam to learn about the challenges they faced in reaching the UK and their dreams and aspirations for their new life here.
Flee
The two men in the video reveal they had no choice but to flee their countries to escape violence and opened up about the negativity they received from some people in the UK upon arrival.
Migrant issues have always been close to Nas’ heart as his grandparents immigrated to the UK from Pakistan and Guyana in search of a better life for their families.
Nas hoped that appearing on Love Island would help to break down negative stereotypes of young Asian men in the media and show a more positive representation. He is well aware of how being perceived negatively in the media can impact one’s life and self-esteem.
Nas encourages the public to keep an open mind when forming an opinion about young men seeking asylum in the UK and hopes the film will highlight the extraordinary hardships they have faced and their positivity despite these challenges.
He said: “For Eduardo and Osam, to bravely overcome the challenges of reaching the UK in search of a better life for themselves, to be faced with public hostility is heart-breaking.
“I hope people who watch Migrant Help’s film will understand the intense journeys young men like Eduardo and Osam have faced just to be here today, and think differently about young refugees setting up lives in the UK.
“I don’t think I would have such a smile on my face if I had been through half the things they have been through.”
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