Raw deal

Asylum-seekers generally get a raw deal in the press. Many are viewed by the public with suspicion and alarm. Yet, behind the headlines, there are some compelling and inspiring stories of courage and determination in the face of unimaginable violence and terror. This is what Sonja Linden, herself the daughter of refugees from Nazi Germany, hopes to emphasise in her new play, Crocodile Seeking Refuge.

Sonja's work as Writer-in-Residence at the Medical Foundation for Victims of Torture from 1997 to 2004 brought her face to face with refugees from many different, war-torn countries.

In 2003, she formed the iceandfire Theatre Company, which is committed to highlighting some of the tales of suffering that she encountered.

"I was deeply shocked at what they'd been through in their own countries and then what they went through here," she told me. "My aim in writing the play was to break the stereotype of asylum-seekers as either victims or predators - the crocodile being a predator-type creature - and to present them not as an amorphous mass but as individuals, with individual hopes and dreams, and people whose lives have been irrevocably interrupted and shattered by violent forces outside their control.

"People have fled to this country in the hope that they can rebuild their lives, in a country free of war and oppression, and then they meet huge obstacles about whether they are going to be believed or not.

"So I wanted to give insight to audiences, who may never have met an asylum-seeker in their lives, and introduce them to asylum-seekers mediated through characters in the play."

Crocodile Seeking Refuge focuses on five individuals seeking asylum in the UK, whose stories are based on those of five refugees that Sonja met and worked with at the Foundation as part of the Write to Life project.

The central figure is British asylum lawyer Harriet, whose devotion to her job threatens her marriage.

"As a dramatist, my challenge was to tell these stories in a way that maintains the integrity of those individuals whose stories I'm telling, because they're real people, but also hold an audience in an exciting and an emotional, gripping way," explained Sonja. "My motivation was to tell a story that featured people who get a very bad press, but I didn't want to write a polemic - I wanted to write a strong piece of theatre.

"Also, of course, I'm aware of the topicality of the issue. The whole issue of asylum is very misrepresented in the press, with a lot of misleading statistics. People don't come here because we're a soft touch; they come here because they're desperate. And that doesn't come through in the media stories. They are actually fleeing for their lives."

Sonja's central character, Zakariyah, is based on Sharif Barko, from Darfur in western Sudan, who was arrested on suspicion of being a rebel against the Arab fundamentalist government and imprisoned and brutally tortured.

Then there is Nasrin Parvaz, a political prisoner in Iran for eight years, who inspired the character of Parveneh. A scene in the play recreates the chilling story of the day she came face to face with her jailer in her local Tesco's.

Other torture victims include Pierre-Junior N'Khiembet, from Congo-Brazzaville, who inspired the character Destin; Qasimm Albrisen, who became Jalal in the play, and another western Sudanese refugee, Aziz Idris.

"It was a bit of a tall order to try and weave all those stories into a play," admitted Sonja. "It started out as a sort of docu-drama, but I wanted to use my skills as a playwright and weave their stories into a proper drama.

"My central character had to be someone like Harriet. I was concerned really in telling her story because of her dedication to her clients and the impact it has on her private life because this really does happen to people who are as dedicated as her and who are working as professionals in the asylum business.

"It's hugely draining, very dispiriting and, in her case, it broke up her marriage. So it's an interesting story."

Crocodile Seeking Refuge was first performed by the iceandfire Theatre Company at the Lyric Hammersmith Studio in September 2005, and has since been slightly updated, with a new cast, designer and director. Sonja hopes that the play's latest outing will help to change people's attitudes towards asylum-seekers.

"I think what I really want people to do is feel indignation that people are having such a rough time here when they've had a rough time at home. I want people to feel more compassion. So if my play could do anything towards that, that would be a good thing."

Crocodile Seeking Refuge is at the Pegasus Theatre, Magdalen Road, Oxford, tonight and tomorrow. Box office: 01865 722851. For more information about the iceandfire Theatre Company and to read the full stories of the asylum-seekers whose stories inspired the play, visit www.iceandfire.co.uk