March 31, 2025, marked my last day working for Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (GARAS https://www.garas.org.uk/) after ten wonderful years.

GARAS is made up of remarkable individuals. The volunteers dedicate their time to teach English and math, offering a warm welcome to everyone who comes through the doors. They provide hot drinks, food, and groceries, or simply make people feel comfortable by offering them a seat while they find the appropriate person to assist with their needs.

There’s also the admin team, housing team, advice workers, legal team, interpreters and the board of trustees. Last, but certainly not least, is the therapy team—of which I was a part—serving as containers that hold the worries, fears, uncertainties, traumas, and hopes of the clients they encounter.

All of this is under the leadership of theamazing director of GARAS, who always greets everyone with a genuine smile,takes everything in her stride, and has guided the whole organisation for overtwenty years while knowing every member of staff and client.

I always knew I enjoyed my work with such a dedicated team, but the true impact of my colleagues on me, and our mission hit me as my notice period drew to a close. In my final weeks at GARAS, I often found myself holding back tears or crying during team meetings.

The clients I worked with over the past decade have been nothing short of remarkable. They come from diverse countries, including Syria, Afghanistan, and various parts of Africa and Europe, each fleeing different atrocities such as war, oppressive governments, and human trafficking. They are business owners, shepherds, dentists, white helmets, doctors, advocates, teachers, tailors, farm workers, children, fathers, and mothers—the list is exhaustive. Many have faced further hardships on their journey to find refuge, falling victim to ruthless traffickers. They have entrusted their lives to those who demanded large sums of money for perilous journeys, only to find themselves on boats that would not make it; held captive, raped, or tortured. They have left behind family members, some of whom they may never see again, and witnessed loved ones drown before their eyes, unable to save them.

Saying goodbye to my clients was incredibly difficult, and for many of them, it was equally hard to say goodbye to me. One client even refused to attend his last session because he could not bear the thought of parting. The words of my last goodbye from a young man, as he made his way out the door for the final time, still resonate in my mind and bring me to tears as I type this: “We’re still family, right?” He had come to see me no longer as a stranger but as family. 

This reminds me of a story in the New Testament. A lawyer asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?” (Luke 10:29) Jesus responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan(Luke 10:30-37). To paraphrase:

A man was attacked, robbed, beaten, and left for dead on the road to Jericho. Two religious leaders came along at different times and saw the victim lying helpless on the ground, but they crossed over the road and passed him by without offering assistance. Then a third person, a Samaritan, arrived. Unlike the others, he took the time to help the injured man.

Not only did the Samaritan tend to the victim’s wounds, but he also placed him on his donkey and took him to an inn. There, he paid the innkeeper enough to care for the man and promised to reimburse him further if needed upon his return.

The moral of the story is particularly striking: the Samaritans were despised in that society, yet it was a Samaritan who showed compassion, investing his time and resources to provide refuge for the victim of injustice.

Our neighbours are not just those who live next door, our family, or friends with whom we associate. Our neighbours include the strangers among us—those we do not know personally—who suffer at the hands of injustice. They are individuals who have lost everything, been robbed, beaten, and left for dead, desperately seeking care and refuge in our midst.

The Samaritan in the parable exemplified this understanding by not hesitating to touch the stranger, tending to his wounds and providing him with a safe place. His actions remind us that compassion transcends familiarity, urging us to extend kindness to those who are suffering, regardless of where they are from, their background or our prior relationship with them.

In doing so, we embrace the true spirit of community and humanity, recognising that every act of love towards a neighbour—stranger or otherwise—is a powerful response to injustice.

So, what was my response to my client’s question, “We’re still family, right?” With tears in my eyes, I responded, “Yes, we’re still family!”

What a privilege it has been to work with such a wonderful organisation that offers refuge to strangers in such loving and practical ways. To the team, I salute you all for the sacrifices you make, both as individuals and as a collective, for this worthwhile work. Long may it continue!