Oldham woman whose husband was stuck in Gaza now homeless

Earlier this year, The Oldham Times covered the heartwarming moment when Glodwick resident Afshan Abubakar reunited with her partner, Hani, who had been stuck in Gaza for months as war raged in the region.

In November 2023, Afshan lost her job at Citizens Advice – claiming that she was sacked for speaking about the war.

Now, she and her partner have been evicted from their Glodwick house and made homeless, along with her three children, aged four, six, and 14.

Afshan and her partner, Hani, reunited in February this year (Image: Anthony Moss/Newsquest)

After initially being sent to a Premier Inn in Bury, the couple has now been moved to a hotel in Manchester, which is so far from her child’s school it takes her an hour and 40 minutes to get there and feels like "rehab or a prison cell".

Afshan said: “If you read about the hotel, it’s barely a two-star hotel and everyone says it stinks of urine, it’s very unhygienic, filthy, mouldy – everything’s on there, but still they put us in there.”

Speaking through tears, the 43-year-old recounted an incident where she says hotel staff accused her of bringing men to her room, against policy – which she says led to a staff member threatening to kick her and her children out of the hotel.

However, Afshan says the two people were actually volunteers with a local food bank who had brought her a food parcel.

The hotel is so bad, Afshan says, she has sent her 14-year-old daughter to live with her sister – who is unable to take in the rest of the family.

Afshan says the room is dirty (Image: Afshan Abubakar)

She added: “She was so distressed in that hotel, and crying, she didn’t sleep all night – I was worried she was going to start suffering from sleep deprivation.

“I had to ask my sister if she could look after her until we’re housed somewhere else.

“She commutes now from Prestwich to Oldham and travels to Royton via bus.

"She’s only got this year left, and next year, she’s 14 – she can’t afford to miss her lessons.”

Afshan said: “All I want to do is get on with my life, get my kids in school, and focus on my mental health and Hani’s.

“Now, not only are we worried about his family in Gaza, we’re worried about our own situation and the kids.”

The hotel has been approached for comment.

Afshan says parts of the ceiling fell as she was bathing her four-year-old (Image: Afshan Abubakar)

Local MP in contact with government

Oldham East and Saddleworth MP Debbie Abrahams is trying to help the family with their situation.

She said: “I can confirm that a constituent has made contact with my office and I have made representations on their behalf when they were made homeless and moved into Temporary Accommodation out of my constituency.

“I have stayed in contact with Oldham council’s housing team regarding this case.

“I am unable to provide a running commentary on a specific case.

“However this is one of dozens of similar cases which are symptomatic of a chronic housing crisis which far too often puts families in a precarious and worrying situation leading to detrimental effects on their health, education and employment.”

Afshan says her partner's room looks directly out in to a dirty outdoor area (Image: Afshan Abubakar)

Council says more than 500 children in temporary accommodation

Cllr Elaine Taylor, deputy leader of Oldham Council and cabinet member for decent homes, said: “Mrs Abubakar has been in touch with our housing team on several occasions and our staff have provided her with assistance and support.

“We have found her accommodation after she and her family became homeless.

“We do sympathise with Mrs Abubakar and other private rented tenants facing eviction. However, unfortunately her situation isn’t unique.

“We currently have 500 children living in temporary accommodation and we are working hard to move as many families back into the borough as quickly as we are able to, in order to ensure their schooling isn’t affected.

“We will continue to work with Mrs Abubakar and we will support her to apply for social housing, but like many other local authorities across the country, here in Oldham housing demand massively outstrips supply, and our housing register has thousands of people on it waiting for suitable accommodation.”

Update: Afshan and her family have now been moved to another hotel.

This article was corrected at 13.27 on 07/10/2024. The original version contained a comment from Debbie Abrahams which was erroneously included from a previous story. An updated comment has now been included. The Oldham Times apologises for this error.