'I built a life and then abandoned it': Playwright who had to flee to the UK after writing play featuring trans actors

My London: Rogelio Braga says it feels like his ‘life has been taken away’ from him as he cannot return home to his family

A Filipino playwright has waited almost two years for asylum in the UK after he and his family were sent death threats in his home country.

Rogelio Braga, 41, came to the UK for a short stay to study when he received a call saying he could not return home as he would no longer be safe due to threats of extra-judicial killing.

“It’s a tragedy,” he says. “At my age, I already built a life. Everything is there. And then you have to abandon it. I’m in a limbo.”

“It’s a weird experience,” he explains, “it’s like your life is taken away from you.”