Refugees: Family moved 35 miles away from children’s school

Riyad told the BBC: “I like my school but I’m worried a little bit [that] we’re going to get homeless or we’re not going to get a house forever.”

The boy, who started P5 last week, said the car journey to school was long and tiring.

He said he often fell asleep and that his siblings got car sick.

Riyad, who said he had spoken to the NIHE on his family’s behalf because his English is stronger, told the BBC he hoped to move back to Belfast.

“I like to see my friends,” he said.

“If I live far away I won’t see my friends and that would make my feelings sad.

“My one dream is to get a house beside my school. When we get our own house in Belfast, I would like to have a table for my own homework and purple lights.”

Riyad’s father Mohaend and his mother Ruqaya told the BBC they had concerns about moving the children out of their school.

They said they might be moved again and the one thing the children were used to was their school in Belfast.

Speaking through an interpreter, Mohaend said the system was “very difficult” and that he hoped the NIHE would “have some mercy” on his children.

He said he hoped for permanent accommodation closer to the school, to help his “exhausted” family.