A YOUNG asylum seeker has been left in “shameful and degrading” conditions after housing bosses refused to move her from a filthy flat, a charity has claimed.

Uerrey Kaitjo is now spending all her time in the bedroom of the property – eating, sleeping and studying – due to her living conditions.

The 28-year-old health and social care student said she would rather opt to be homeless than live in the flat but her pleas have failed to move Mears, the housing provider.

Refugee charity Positive Action in Housing (PAIH) has supported her calls for a new residence.

But Mears strongly refutes that the flat is unsuitable and says PAIH is “misrepresenting” the situation.

Glasgow Times:

Uerrey said: “When I moved in I tried hard to clean the place but it is impossible to make it clean enough to be suitable to live in.

“I have asked to move but the housing officer says there is nothing wrong with the flat. I now spend all of my time in my bedroom because I can’t sit down anywhere in the living room or the kitchen because it’s so dirty.

“I don’t know anyone here and it is making me anxious.”

Uerrey, who came to the UK from Namibia, was moved by the Home Office from Southampton to Glasgow in May this year and placed in hotel accommodation for three weeks.

She was then moved to a flat in the north of the city to live with another woman.

A Mears spokesman said the flat was fitted out with new appliances, carpets, kitchen flooring and decoration earlier this year by City Building to a high standard.

But, as seen in our photos, the kitchen has damp on the ceiling, areas are yellowed with dirt and there were mouse droppings and rotten food on the floor and surfaces.

The living room was piled with clothes, entirely covering the floor and furniture, and the carpet filthy.

Glasgow Times:

Uerrey, who is studying at Glasgow Kelvin College, contacted Positive Action in Housing for support and the charity complained on her behalf.

She was this week sent a letter from the Home Office telling her that she would be moved to new accommodation on November 24.

But on Tuesday a housing officer visited to tell her the letter was sent in error and the property is of a suitable standard.

Robina Qureshi, director of the charity Positive Action in Housing, said: “How upset does this make the clients to not be believed about what is in front of their eyes?

“They have said there is ‘no cause for concern’ that an asylum seeker has been placed into such shameful and degrading conditions, dirty, rodent and insect infested.

“Would they put one of their family into that? I doubt it.

Glasgow Times:

“The attitude of Mears and the Home Office is arrogance and indifference. Basically they are gaslighting refugees.

“The photographic evidence is indisputable, these are shameful and degrading conditions to put anyone into.

“With level four lockdown Uerii will be unable to escape these living conditions and we fear her anxiety will yet worse.

“To make things worse, Mears sent a letter to our client telling her she would be moved on November 24, but after our complaint the Mears housing officer advised Uerii that they were not happy that we had raised a complaint and she would not be moving after all.

“They are being callous and sending the message to refugees to accept dirty living conditions or else be punished for complaining.”

In correspondence with Positive Action in Housing, Mears explained the dirt and clutter by saying the woman sharing Uerrey’s flat gathers clothing for charity.

Responding to the Glasgow Times, a Mears spokesman said: “The claims being made by PAIH are a misrepresentation of the situation at this property. The property is in very good order and well maintained.

“Service users are asked to be respectful of each other in shared properties and to clean up after themselves.

“Mears staff visit regularly and we are aware of issues currently with a large collection of charitable items being stored at the property and further issues connected with volunteer food preparation being carried out in the kitchen.

“We have asked the resident who does voluntary charitable work to arrange to distribute the charitable items so that the communal area is clear for both service users and in future to make sure the kitchen is cleaned after use.”

Robina believes both occupants should be moved out to allow deep cleaning to be carried out. She added: “Their statement about the flatmate just taking in ‘charitable clothing donations’ is a red herring. The living room accommodation is extremely hoarded with someone else’s belongings. Glasgow is in a level four lockdown and NHS guidelines suggest there is a risk of transmission from second hand clothes.

“None of this has been taken into consideration. They basically don’t care.”