The media often stigmatises asylum hotels – and they are sometimes physically attacked too. But behind closed doors are people who dream of work, wheels, security and the simple freedom to choose what they eat

Muhammad is from Afghanistan and has a lot to think about today. He has good news – he’s received his asylum decision and he can stay in the UK. But that has brought up a new problem: he will have to leave the budget hotel in Yorkshire where he has been living for months – and he has nowhere else to live.

Still, Muhammad has offered to introduce me to some of the other people who live here. I work part-time for the Refugee Council, which means I sometimes visit asylum hotels. They are strange, sad places that are misunderstood, targeted by protesters and even – for instance, last summer – physically attacked. This one is next to an overgrown riverbank. Many of the guests here are from war zones – you might recognise the names of their home towns from maps on the news. In most cases, they are not allowed to work.