12    Can’t Stay. Can’t Go. Refused asylum seekers who cannot be returned >> Semi-structured interviews with refused asylum seekers who cannot be returned and Red Cross refugee support staff who work with them. was not meant as a legal analysis or fact-checking exercise. The amount of information available for each individual varied. >> An interview with a legal professional. Some of our refused asylum seekers are disputed nationality cases. Where the country of origin is noted for our refused asylum seekers, this is their self-reported country of origin. The names of all participants have been changed and none of the photos in the report are of actual participants. We also asked our refused asylum seekers for their permission to review their case records, where available. This allowed us to gather a more detailed understanding of their situations. This SOME OF OUR REFUSED ASYLUM SEEKERS Faheem’s story Faheem is 44 years old and comes from Palestine. Faheem has been in the UK for nine years and has no ID documents. The Palestinian mission has no record of him and refuses to recognise him as a Palestinian. Faheem has applied for assisted voluntary return (AVR) to Palestine three times. However, since he is unable to get a travel document from the Palestinian mission, his first two applications expired. Faheem’s third application was rejected due to lack of documentation. The Home Office stressed it was unacceptable that Faheem had no new evidence to assist AVR in obtaining a travel document for him. Faheem is unable to obtain a Palestinian passport, so he cannot be returned. He is currently gathering evidence to apply for leave to remain as a stateless person. Faheem is without a home and without a country. He says: “I have missed my chance of a proper life; I have no home, I have no partner, I have no job, my age is going up. My situation is miserable.” Kasim’s story Walid’s story Kasim is 29 years old; he does not have an Iraqi passport or other form of ID. The Iraqi embassy has advised that it cannot assist him with documents. For Kasim to obtain a travel document, he needs to have a laissez-passer, a valid or expired passport, or the family record number in the local civil registration office. The Home Office expect Kasim to get assistance from his family in Iraq and follow procedures that permit a family member to obtain an ID on his behalf. Kasim is from Mosul and he has lost contact with his family; he cannot get their help. He is very worried about his family and is desperate to be in touch with his mother. Kasim has tried tracing his family through the Red Cross, but was told the situation in Mosul is too dangerous for International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) presence. Walid is 44 years old and comes from Algeria; he has been in the UK for nearly 17 years. He left Algeria during the war. Walid lost his passport a long time ago, before arriving in the UK. Walid has applied for assisted voluntary return (AVR) to Algeria but, without a travel document, he cannot be returned. He has been to the Algerian embassy twice to try to get re-documented. However, as he has been out of the country for so long, they refuse to recognise him as an Algerian national. Walid is stuck in no man’s land, and has suffered two heart attacks since he has been in the UK. He is seeking advice on whether he can apply for leave to remain as a stateless person. However, Walid does not see this as a good solution; he sees it as a very last resort.