Before the war I felt at peace in Iraq. Everything changed after the war; danger from bombs and snipers was everywhere, there was no work, everyone was tense and anxious. In 2006 my family left for Damascus in Syria. I first wrote to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2007 to ask to if we could become refugees in a safe country. We waited nine years for something to happen. During this time the civil war started in Syria, my Iraqi passport expired and as a result I had to walk to the authorities every day for 6 months.

Finally, in 2015, I was interviewed online by British immigration officials and given a visa to come to the UK. The day before we were due to leave for England we were stopped at a checkpoint - but allowed to go when they saw our UK visas.

Now we are happy and at peace. My children go to school, my wife is happy and we are all learning English. But I still think of my close friend who remains in Syria, even though his mother is very ill, and I am trying to get help to get them out.

Channing Hall