Yuri was in his mid-twenties, working on the family farm when his father passed away unexpectedly. He says “My brothers were in the UK where they had made new lives and my sisters were unable to take on the farm. I felt under a huge amount of stress trying to keep the farm running”. When the daughter of a family friend suggested they marry and he could move to the UK to support her as she had her own beauty business here it seemed like a great solution. She told him she had a large house she lived in alone and would split the business profits between them.
“I was so happy on my wedding day, it felt like a new beginning” says Yuri, although it was a further two years before he was able to join his wife in the UK. Once here, he soon realised that the situation was drastically different to the future he had pictured. “I discovered my wife had a ‘gangster’ boyfriend who lived in our house. They gave me work to do like cleaning and cooking and would threaten to beat me if I resisted”.
On one occasion his wife took a fork and stabbed it into his hand, causing a major injury. He was forced not sleep on the floor and when they went out he was locked inside the house. His wife said she would call the police if he did not do as she told him and he would be deported. As Yuri did not speak English and did not know the laws in this country he was terrified of the police and being put in prison.
The one activity he was allowed to do was to go to his place of faith once a week, and here he met a man who vaguely knew one of Yuri’s brothers. He told Yuri to get his papers and to be ready to escape. He then went to Yuri’s brother and told him what was happening. As soon as Yuri’s wife and her boyfriend left the house, Yuri’s brother helped him escape.
Yuri is now in a Medaille safe house getting the support he needs to rebuild his life. “I am grateful and thankful for the support I am getting from Medaille Trust” says Yuri. It took a while to build up the trust and confidence, but he has now reported the situation to the police and with the help of his Case Worker is getting to apply for legal status in the UK.
