G’s story: video transcript

[0:00] On screen:

A man’s heavily pixelated face appears with the UK Government logo, title: ‘The reality of living in the UK illegally’ and the words: ‘Firsthand account – identity protected’ appearing on top.

[0:06] On screen:

“I decided to make the journey to the UK because my family was in a lot of DEBT.”

[0:12] On screen:

I met with a man who took us for dinner. He told us that he’d done this journey many times…”

[0:17] On screen:

“and that living in the UK is easier than here and you can make SO MUCH MONEY.” We see an image of blurred people walking along a London street as the text appears on screen.

[0:25] On screen:

“I persuaded my in-laws to take out a loan on their house because I was promised that I would find a job straight away…”

[0:32] On screen:

“and I would make enough money to pay ALL MY DEBTS.” A close-up of a man’s hands touching cash in a wallet is on screen.

[0:39] On screen:

“I thought life in the UK would be easy and I could send most of my money back home.” Behind the text is a darkened image of a man’s hands resting on his knees.

[0:45] On screen:

“Living in the UK is very DIFFERENT to what I thought. It was very DIFFICULT to get work.”

[0:52] On screen:

“Knowing I could be returned home without making the money I needed was VERY SCARY.”

[1:00] On screen:

“I felt PARANOID going out. I would hear sirens and think I was caught.” A close-up of a police car’s blue light is on screen, with blurred city streets in the background.

[1:06] On screen:

“I’m still in debt and have lost respect with my family.”

[1:12] On screen:

Endframe with UK Government logo: Illegal migrants are not allowed to work in the UK and risk being exploited.