Asylum seekers whose lives are on hold in Norwich hotels have much to offer the area, insists a charity boss helping to ease their time in bureaucratic limbo.
It has been almost a year since two city hotels were taken over by the Home Office to temporarily house refugees.
The Best Western Brook Hotel in Bowthorpe and Hellesdon's Holiday Inn were two of around 400 hotels across the UK chosen to provide accommodation.
Gee Cook is chief executive of Norwich-based New Routes Integration, a charity providing support to migrants across the city - including those in Bowthorpe and Hellesdon.
"Norwich has a tremendous history of being welcoming to outsiders," said Ms Cook.
"These people are so appreciative of that and want to give something back."
The government is currently facing a backlog of 172,758 people awaiting an initial decision on their asylum cases.
Of those, 128,812 have been waiting longer than six months.
Ms Cook continued: "The majority of people are from areas such as Afghanistan, Iran and Syria - and they are creative, innovative and resilient.
"There is a real opportunity for Norwich to benefit from them being here."
The Home Office took the decision last year to temporarily house refugees in British hotels while applications are processed.
But a number of people, communities and organisations have spoken out about their opposition to the policy - with many voicing their concerns about the reported £6m per day cost to taxpayers.
Last year, a High Court judge granted an ongoing injunction to block the Home Office from using hotels in Great Yarmouth to house asylum seekers.
The borough council argued that the sites were unsuitable and that they should be kept available for tourists visiting the resort.
July also saw a far-right demonstration take place outside The Brook Hotel in Bowthorpe.
A group called the East Anglian Patriots amassed around 50 members, who played Winston Churchill speeches and sang God Save The King as they marched towards the hotel.
"The far-right is the far-right and I choose to ignore them," said Gee.
"We should instead focus on the people who need our support.
"They are cooped up inside these hotels with very little money.
"And the bottom line is they have a lot to offer and we want to help them give back."
New Routes offers migrants a number of skills to help them integrate as comfortably as possible with the rest of society.
This includes English language courses, financial advice and assisting with job searching.
On this, Gee said: "They are so appreciative of the opportunities here in Norwich.
"It's no secret that there is a skill shortage across the UK at the moment.
"These people want to work and they are used to working.
"But unfortunately it can take a long time for them to get the necessary papers.
"So we are now helping many move on to volunteering - either with us or other places across the city.
"There is one lady we work with who was a nurse back in Cameroon.
"She is now an external volunteer at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
"So they are bringing skills over with them - skills that we can really benefit from."
Nearby churches, health centres and charitable organisations are all working with Norfolk County Council to support those inside the city hotels.
This includes offering clothes and mental health support, among other things.
"The fact is that these people are here through necessity and have been through so much," Gee concluded.
"Norwich has always been a welcoming place and we should be proud of that.
"We now need to ensure this continues and that these people get the help they really need."
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