I READ with disappointment parts of your article "Portrait of an asylum seeker" in Monday, March 3, issue.

It seems to me that, like any other issue, there will always be people who give genuine cases a bad image. I realise I can't change those people, or others who jump on the bandwagon and generalise across the spectrum. It is sad that there are people who would respond to a request for help by being abusive.

Be that as it may, I have had the privilege of getting acquainted with a few asylum seekers here in Bolton, and am enjoying trying to help them. They each have different circumstances and all face difficult challenges as they try to make the transition from their cultures into ours.

Having lived abroad under wonderful circumstances compared to those of asylum seekers, I cannot begin to imagine how difficult it is for them. I lived in Berlin, did not speak the language well, and, at times, felt very lonely, but compared to the experiences I have become aware of, I consider myself fortunate indeed.

Thank you so much for pointing out in your article the facts about what asylum seekers do get and don't get from the State. Also for quoting Peter Sloane, of the Volunteer Bureau, regarding the experience of an asylum seeker whose family had suffered torture and murder, causing him to fear for his own life.

As for those who are abusive, may they never know what it is like to walk a mile in an asylum seeker's moccasins. Thank goodness for "Value in Diversity!"

Ann Telling

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