I didn’t care about Christmas until I invited a refugee home
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If you’d told me a few years ago that my partner and I would be putting up a Christmas tree because of a TikTok-loving, Gen Z refugee, I wouldn’t have believed you. We wouldn’t normally get into the spirit of decorating the house for Christmas – we’re usually travelling to visit family in different parts of the country or my family in the US over December.
![[Alex Milne: We never really bothered with Christmas - until we met Lina]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234115485-926b-e1734953830367.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Yet this time last year, there we were, taking Lina*, a refugee who was staying with us over the holidays, out to choose the perfect tree. She wasn’t familiar with the tradition of Christmas trees and was shocked that it was going to be a real one. But when it came to adding tinsel and baubles, she had a very particular idea of how she wanted it to look and in the end, she was chuffed with it.
![[Alex Milne: We never really bothered with Christmas - until we met Lina]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234115492-5c34-e1734953857683.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=600)
This year Lina has moved into her own flat and started at college, but we’ll be hosting a refugee again over the holidays. It all started several years ago when I read a particularly harrowing article about the treatment of asylum seekers. I thought it was dreadful, particularly the funnelling of refugees into overcrowded temporary accommodation such as hotels, and the lack of ‘move on’ plans for refugees with newly granted status (who were routinely receiving just seven days’ notice of eviction).
![[Alex Milne: We never really bothered with Christmas - until we met Lina]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234115489-f028-e1734953905607.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
It felt like there was little we could do that would make a difference in this system, but we did have a spare room and so could help in a very practical way. Our next-door neighbour in Lewisham is a volunteer with Refugees at Home, a charity that connects refugees and those seeking asylum with people happy to host them. We had chatted briefly on the subject and met some of the refugees she was hosting.
![[Alex Milne: We never really bothered with Christmas - until we met Lina]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234115490-dbcc.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
