Off diary

GP tries a dose of the hard life

Hand to mouth charity stunt raises cash for failed asylum seekers. Read excerpts from his diary.
Could you live on £5 and a small bag of food for a week? When Paul Williams, a GP in Stockton-on-Tees, tried, he suffered caffeine-withdrawal headaches, exhaustion and weight loss.

His attempt was designed to show solidarity with failed asylum seekers in Tees Valley who find themselves living off meagre handouts from local people when their asylum applications are rejected.

Williams kept a diary of his experiences, providing an insight into his job as a GP working exclusively with asylum seekers and refugees.

He recorded how he learned to do without alcohol, became well acquainted with porridge, rice and baked beans, and discovered the location of the cut-price food counter at the supermarket.

Williams admits it would have been a more authentic stunt had he swapped his car for public transport and forgone "luxuries" paid for by direct debit, including central heating, sports club membership and a broadband internet connection.

In his defence, he says: "I didn't give up work and needed to run a car - travel expenses weren't included in the £5 - and I think it would have been a waste if I'd given up things that are already paid for."

He also forked out £2.80 for a game of squash because he was too embarrassed to ask his opponent to pay. "I didn't want to have to explain why I didn't have the money and accept his charity," Williams explains, "though I'm well aware that failed asylum seekers have no choice."

The only real hardship the doctor faced was being in London, to attend a health select committee, with no lunch. "I had no contingency and cheated straight away, buying a bowl of soup," he admits. "I thought if I'm hungry all day, I'm not going to be able to think."

Although Williams may not have really lived the part of a failed asylum seeker, the event, last month, did give him a platform to raise awareness about their plight.

"Failed asylum seekers are not a well understood group," he says. "Most people think they should be sent home. But it doesn't mean that they're bogus if they fail. They have often suffered imprisonment, rape, torture, war and bereavement, but are unable to prove it or cannot demonstrate that it would happen again. Others can't be returned from where they came because the countries are unsafe."

As a result of the week, the Mary Thompson Fund, which hands out £5 and a bag of food each week to some 40 destitute failed asylum seekers in the Tees Valley area, has raised £200.

· Anyone wishing to make a donation should contact 07910 218622.

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