News

• [22/2/10] Ethnic Kurd wins high court release ruling after failed deportation
  
  
  • Test case reveals Iraqi government resistance to repatriations
    
  • Home Office officials out of control, claims rights group
  
  Owen Bowcott, Guardian, Friday 19 February 2010. Click here for more details
  
  
• [20/2/10] CHANNEL 4 HIDES TRUTH ABOUT HARDENED RACIST
  
  On Friday evening (Feb 12) at prime time, Channel 4 broadcast a programme that was little more than a half-hour party political broadcast for the National Front.
  
  "Young, Angry and White" purported to give insight into the political ideas of a disaffected young man, let down by the established political parties, who was considering joining the BNP.
  
  Yet the programme failed to reveal that "Kieren" [sic] - the subject of the documentary - is the national organiser for the youth wing of the extreme right National Front.
  
  "Young, Angry and White" showed the trained and experienced young racist Kieren in an extraordinarily positive light, allowing him unchallenged to insist on the "racial purity" of his girlfriend, accuse his friend of "genocide" because he had a black girlfriend and was therefore guilty of "racial mixing", and to introduce his masked, far-right associates, who spoke about the "filth flooding through our streets" - non-white people.
  
  The programme failed to inorm viewers about the political nature of the National Front, its history of racial motivated violence, and the criminal convictions of its past and present leaders, and its close links to the BNP. It failed to confront Kieren with any of these facts about either the National Front or the BNP. It failed to investigate Kieren's activity as a leading National Front member.
  
  David Crouch, press officer for the campaign Expose the BNP, said: "A pattern is emerging of public service broadcasters presenting soft interviews with leading far-right extremists. The latest example after a similar fiasco on Radio 1's Newsbeat. This is very poor journalism - Channel 4 should be ashamed."
  
  "The real nature of the BNP and its fellow-travellers was exposed once more this weekend with the assault on Dominic Kennedy, reporter for the Times newspaper."
  
  "The media have a duty to investigate rigorously and challenge forcefully the dangerous, inflammatory activities of these organisations."
  
  The Channel 4 shambles comes as media workers prepare to launch a new campaign to challenge weak coverage of the BNP.
  
  PRESS CONTACT: Tel. 07504 149 481
  
  
• [08/02/10] 84 + Women on Hunger Strike, behind the Wire @ Yarl's Wood IRC
  
  click here for more details
  
  
• [06/02/10] RAPAR member Lydia Besong speaks on the Right to Work of people seeking asylum before a conference of 850 in Manchester,  31st January 2010
  
  Click here for Youtube video.
  
  
• [06/02/10] Elaine Heffernan on Being United as Workers, including Migrant Workers before a conference of 850 in Manchester,  31st January 2010
  
  Click here for Youtube  video .
  
  
• [21/1/10] New research shows asylum seekers do not choose to come to the UK
  
  Research published by the Refugee Council 140110 has revealed refugees have little, if any, choice over which country they claim asylum in, and that few know what to expect before they arrive in the UK. The groundbreaking report 'Chance or Choice: Understanding why asylum seekers come to the UK', by Professor Heaven Crawley of Swansea University, also shows that harsh policies, which make the lives of asylum seekers tougher after their arrival in the UK, have no demonstrable influence over whether people claim asylum in the UK.
  
  Click here for more details [Source : Refugee Council]
  
  
• [13/01/10] Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill - Briefing
  
  Death penalty proposed for consenting same-sex relations
  
  Misreported & unreported aspects of the legislation
  
  By Peter Tatchell, human rights campaigner London, UK - 11 January 2010
  
  Below is a full and comprehensive briefing on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which is currently before the Ugandan Parliament and which proposes the death penalty for certain consenting homosexual acts.
  
  Sponsored by the Ugandan MP, David Bahati, the Bill is expected to be debated and voted on in the coming weeks.
  
  This briefing includes details of the already existing extreme homophobic laws in Uganda and their hateful social effects, a link to a full copy of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill and my summary of its key elements.
  
  Although there have been reports that death penalty clauses will be dropped, to date the Bill has not been amended, watered down or scrapped. All the original provisions, including the death penalty, remain.
  
  Indeed, the Bill's sponsor, MP David Bahati, said late last week that he stands by the Bill and will not withdraw it.
  
  Read the full text of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill
  
  
• [17/12/09] ROCHDALE MP CALLS ON HOME OFFICE TO RELEASE LYDIA BESONG
  
  Campaigners launch urgent appeal to fund judicial review Rochdale MP Paul Rowen has called for the release of playwright Lydia Besong who is currently detained in Yarl’s Wood, Bedfordshire, and due to be deported to Cameroon on Monday, December 21st. Lydia's husband Bernard Batey is not in detention but the UK Border Agency wants to deport him at the same time. In a letter to Borders and Immigration Minister, Phil Woolas, Mr Rowen says that, since the fresh protection claim was submitted by Lydia’s lawyers earlier this week, he has reviewed information about the case and is still of the opinion that there is "a real and substantial danger to Ms Besong and Mr Batey, should they be returned to Cameroon." The MP asks for the fresh protection claim to be given full consideration and for his support to be noted. Mr Rowen adds: "I would request that removal instructions are cancelled whilst fresh representations are considered and that Ms Besong is released to her former address in Rochdale." He has offered to meet Mr Woolas to discuss the case further. In the absence of a decision from the UK Border Agency on the fresh protection claim, which was submitted on Monday of this week – and with the threatened deportation imminent - Lydia’s lawyers are now working on an application for a judicial review of the case.
  
  Supporters have launched an urgent appeal for funds in order to pay for the legal costs of the judicial review.
  
  Lydia, 38, taught English and English Literature in Cameroon. She and her husband, Bernard, also 38, sought asylum in the UK three years ago. On December 3, Lydia’s play "How I Became An Asylum Seeker" was performed in front of a packed house at the Zion Theatre in Hulme, Manchester. The play was staged by Community Arts Northwest and was performed by members of WAST (Women Asylum Seekers Together). Lydia is a member of WAST’s management committee and her extensive human rights work on their behalf has included campaigns for other women facing deportation. Bernard is a member of the Leadership group of RAPAR and has helped set up Manchester’s first Voucher Exchange Network for people seeking asylum. The couple’s asylum claim is based on their activities with the Southern Cameroon National Council, a peaceful political organisation which campaigns for the rights of the English-speaking minority of Cameroon. In Cameroon, both Lydia and Bernard suffered beatings, torture and imprisonment as a result of their involvement with the SCNC and Lydia was raped by a uniformed prison guard. The couple’s widespread support includes the priest and parishioners at St Anne’s Church in Belfield, Rochdale. Lydia and Bernard have been living in Rochdale for the last three years. Campaigners from WAST, RAPAR and other organisations in Manchester, believe their lives will be in grave danger if they are returned to Cameroon. Robert Sharp, of English PEN, the charity which campaigns for writers and playwrights internationally, is calling for Lydia’s release. He said: "This is a blow for freedom of speech. With this detention, Lydia’s fledgling literary career will be cut short. It is astonishing that the UK plans to deport someone, who has been seeking refuge from a government that attacked her just for exercising her right to freedom of expression." The hundreds of emails of support received include messages from writers. Lydia and Bernard’s case is also being backed by the Manchester branch of the National Union of Journalists. NUJ Manchester Branch Chair Chris Rea said: "Several NUJ members have written stories about Lydia and Bernard and have been impressed by their work for other people seeking asylum and by the courage they have shown. Lydia spoke at Manchester Trades Union Council’s May Day rally this year and it is clear that Lydia and Bernard’s human rights work in Cameroon will leave them open to further persecution and danger if they are forced to return." The couple’s supporters are being urged to write to Home Secretary Alan Johnson and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas asking them to cancel the planned removal and release Lydia back into the community of Greater Manchester to which she belongs. Supporters are also being asked to email or fax Sam Okwulehie, Group Area Manager for Kenya Airways, and urge him not to carry out the forced removal of Lydia Besong.
  
  For more information please contact RAPAR press officer Kath Grant on 07812 471047 OR 0161 225 2260 OR Rapar’s office on 0161 834 8221. Email kath.northernstories@googlemail.com. You can also contact WAST at wastmanchester@yahoo.co.uk Tel: 0161 833 8835. Anyone who wants to contribute to the fundraising appeal for the judicial review should contact WAST or RAPAR
  
  
• [8/12/09] Bah humbug! St Nick prevented from giving gifts to detained children
  
  Click here for more information
  
  
• [8/12/09] ELIKYA Publishes Magazine about French speaking African Diaspora
  
  Click here for first issue
  
  
• [30/11/09] Child M Campaign
  
  Child M and his family are valued members of their community in Gorton, Manchester where they have lived for more than two years.
  
  The whole family are threatened with deportation to Iran, where they face certain persecution. They stand accused of distributing Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses. An arrest warrant naming Child M’s mother (Farah Ghaemi) and sister (Mahroo Sadeghi) has been recently authenticated by an independent expert.
  
  Child M and his family are currently being held in Yarls Wood Immigration Removal Centre in indefinite detention. This is their second period of detention, having spent 7 weeks there in summer 2008.
  
  The family was due to be deported on Friday 20 th November but this was halted at the last minute when the UK Border Agency, under pressure from their legal team and elected representatives, agreed to consider fresh evidence.
  
  The detention periods have had serious effects on Child M’s mental and physical health. Before he was detained again on Tuesday 17 th November, Child M was showing signs of recovery; he had established good relationships with friends at school and was beginning to feel confident and secure. However, he is now showing the same symptoms he presented with during and after the previous incarceration: high anxiety, hair loss, nightmares, skin rashes and bed wetting. He is very traumatised by recent events.
  
  This family have been poorly treated by our asylum system. Not only have they been subjected to lengthy detention spells, they have also been moved in caged vans, escorted by 8 or more immigration officers and they have all, including Child M, been subjected to full body searches. Child M is not a criminal. He is a little boy.
  
  Child M and his family should not suffer any more. They deserve to be shown some compassion.
  
  Please release Child M and his family from detention immediately.
  
  Your support is greatly appreciated by the family and the campaign.
  
  Please email your support here.
  
  
• [30/11/09] Racist yobs desecrate graves, again
  
  
  
  
  Over 100 people joined a Unite Against Fascism rally outside Southern Cemetery in Manchester last Sunday to protest against the desecration, for a third time, of Muslim graves stones. All of the twenty headstones toppled last week were in the Muslim section.
  
  'This attack is not act of mindless violence. Those who did it knew exactly what they were doing. And we all know that they are a tiny, tiny minority in this City', said Cllr Val Stevens, deputy leader of Manchester City Council speaking at the rally. Police are treating the desecration as a race hate crime.
  
  Many at the vigil were asking why is this is happening again? And why now?
  
  "Since the first attack on the Muslim graves last month, we have seen the BBC put the Nazi BNP leader Nick Griffin on Question time, and we saw hundreds of racist thugs in the EDL march in Manchester city centre making Nazis salutes and carrying placards saying 'No More Mosques'", explained UAF spokesperson Mike Killion. 'This has created a climate of hatred against Muslims which we must stop'.
  
  Widespread support at the vigil, included local MP John Leech, Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders, as well as from the Afro Caribbean community and trades unionists.
  
  The support and solidarity with Muslim brothers and sisters that was shown at the vigil demonstrated the very unity and solidarity that those who desecrated the graves most fear. A stronger and broader Manchester UAF was established at a meeting following this protest.
  
  Mark Krantz, Manchester
  
  Click here for more
  
  
• [24/11/09] Students thrown off English course at Manchester College
  
  Up to 300 students have been thrown off the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) course at Manchester College. The college says this is because of “an unforeseen error in ESOL enrolment” and changes in government funding.
  
  Click here for more details. [the Mule]
  
  
• [24/11/09] Local Playwright and Human Rights Campaigner told to leave UK
  
  Lydia Besong and her husband Bernard Batey fled Cameroon and came to the UK seeking asylum on 17 December 2006. On 29 October 2009 the couple returned to their home in Rochdale to find a letter from the Border and Immigration Agency informing them that they must return to Cameroon, where Lydia she is still wanted by the authorities since escaping prison
  
  Click here for more details [the Mule]
  
  
• [06/09/09] Manchester factory linked to human rights abuses
  
  A new campaign group claim that products made by Manchester company Brimar can be linked directly to human rights abuses and infringements of international ‘laws of war’. Click here for more [The Mule]
  
  
• [06/09/09] Mind report on Asylim Seeker metal health
  
  Mind has found evidence that the UK's complex asylum seeker process, detention centres and aspects of UK life are actively worsening the mental health of refugees and asylum seekers. In two new reports, the charity shows how a lack of support and resources for refugees and asylum seekers is both exacerbating pre-existing mental health conditions and triggering them in the first place.
  Click here for more information
  
  
• [19/10/09] BBC Panorama film on Racism in Britain
  Click here to view
  
  
• [12/10/09] Greater Manchester Unite Against Fascism
  
  
  
  
  Protest against English Defence League (EDL) in Manchester was "A Vibrant Celebration of Multicultural Manchester"
  
  Thousands of local people gathered together in Piccadilly Gardens on Saturday to oppose the EDL's "national mobilisation" in Manchester.
  
  Unite Against Fascism (UAF)'s protest brought together all sections of Manchester's multicultural community who made it clear that racists and fascists were not welcome in our city.
  
  Trade unions, faith and community groups, and six Greater Manchester MPs supported our Unity Statement condemning the EDL's rally and calling for a peaceful demonstration against it.
  
  UAF spokesman Mike Gilligan said: "It was a tremendously successful day for the anti racist movement.
  
  "The EDL were run out of town, they were not very powerful, they were out numbered and they completely failed."
  
  "In particular, our protestors reflected the energy of young people who showed their disgust at the racists' attempt to group together in Manchester city centre."
  
  UAF is now questioning why the EDL were given the protection of the Police to march to and from their rally, inciting racial hatred with racist chanting and Nazi salutes.
  
  UAF is proud that so many people came to our protest and we would like to thank all our supporters, including many who came to Piccadilly Gardens and were refused entry by the Police.
  
  However, UAF is extremely concerned about the thread which links the election of the fascist BNP to the European Parliament, the attack on Muslim gravestones, the appearance of the EDL, and the BBC invitation to BNP leader Nick Griffin to appear on Question Time.
  
  

  Police Abuses Reports on police abuses at the EDL protest Manchester Unite Against Fascism is collecting reports of police abuses at the Saturday 10th October demonstration against the English Defence League. If you have any stories, pictures, information, then please email them to policeabuseuaf@gmail.com. We are looking for personal stories and as much eveidence as possible. We are also looking for any badge numbers and information people might have about the police not letting people join the protest, or kettling protesters in Piccadilly Gardens.

  
  
  
• [09/10/2009] Attitudes to immigration research
  Reviewing the evidence base from the last five years, researchers from Swansea University found that public attitudes in the UK are generally negative and confirms that there is great unease about the consequences of immigration. Click here for more information.
  
  
• [12/07/2009] Refused asylum seekers forced to eat from bins, says Rowntree trust
  
  Report highlights desperate plight of families unable to return to Iraq, Iran, Eritrea and Zimbabwe
  Martin Wainwright, Guardian Wednesday 8 July 2009
  Click here for full article
  
  
• [10/7/2009] Appeal to save the Mansour family from deportation
  
  At 7am on Wednesday 1st July, neighbours in a Moss Side street watched in horror as 1 year old Angela, 3year old twins Bishoy and Anastasia, 7 year old Karin, 10 year old Nardin and their parents Mum, Samah and Dad, Hany Mansour were forcibly removed from their home by a large group of police and immigration officials.
  Click here to join the facebook support group
  
  
• [17/06/2009] Yarl's Wood: Mothers & Fathers on Hunger Strike
  
  A detainee Solomom Ojeheonmon said:

  Points of protest

  1. Children, some as young as five months old, in this detention, are sick. Most were struck down with virus, they are not eating properly since they are not used to the food here, not sleeping properly, restless and suffers other psychological manifestations including nightmares, bedwetting, screaming at night, violent behaviors, and other emotional outbursts like crying etc.
  2. A recently bereaved family of three who lost their twins buried just about a month ago being detained and giving removal directions without even a chance to say farewell to the grave at Everton cemetery where three of their children are buried.
  3. Pregnant women, some with complications, are detained with total disregard of their well-being, including a pregnant lady, who is also suffering from depression and anxiety.
  4. A lady recently went through a major life threatening operation for ectopic pregnancy a couple of months ago, and now detained without even sufficient time to recover.
  5. An epileptic lady who suffers multiple seizures, up to six times in a twenty-four hour period with only a 14 year old son to look after her. The occupants tried to assist in such distressing times.
  6. Families in considerable distress being plucked out of their beds early in the morning, and transported in mobile prisons for long hours to the airport.
  7. The continuing detention has placed Considerable Stress on families and as such we have decided to rise with a single voice and say no to detention of innocent people.
  8. . Hence, this is the second day of a continuing hunger-strike. Also, tonight (Tuesday evening), all occupants here, with the children, have decided to spend the night protesting outside (courtyard).
  9. We will appreciate any help and advice we can get from you.

  From: Solomom Ojeheonmon
  
  Click here for Daily Mail article
  
  
• [15/06/2009] SOAS directorate block occupied over brutal deportation of SOAS cleaners
  
  Click here for more
  
  
• [11/06/2009] Engaging all young people in meaningful education post 16
  
  A qualitative study by Laura McLarty and Rhetta Moran - Click here for pdf of report and here for a summary
  
  
• [28/05/2009] BNP leader: I don't mind breaking race laws
  
  Click here for article from The Times
  
  
• [07/05/2009] Online petition by Members of PCS Union
  
  UK Borders Authority (UKBA) must put a ban on employing racists
  
  Members of PCS Union in the Home Office and UKBA are campaigningfor a ban on members of racist organisations from being employed inthe Department.
  
  Staff in the Home Office are employed amongst other things as BorderOfficers, Asylum caseworkers, and enforcement officers. It isincompatible for members of racist organisations to be employed inthese sensitive roles.
  
  Whilst there is a ban in the Prison and Police Services there arecurrently no restrictions on members of the BNP, Combat 18 or theNational Front from being employed in the Home Office or UKBA.
  
  Please sign this petition to demonstrate your support for the campaignto instigate a ban. It is unacceptable for asylum and immigrationpolicy to be implemented by members of racist organisations.
  
  
• [05/05/2009] Waking nightmares: arrest and detention of children By Frances Webber – published  30 April 2009
  Published by Institute of Race Relations (IRR)
  A new report by the Children's Commissioner reveals the impact of immigration detention on children and calls for its abolition.
  
  Click here for more
  
  
• [30/4/2009] Court of Appeal Judgement leaves refused Asylum Seekers without a right to free Healthcare
  
  Today the Court of Appeal judgment overturned the decision of the High Court that refused asylum seekers should be able to access free NHS care whilst in the UK. In particular, the Court of Appeal ruled that refused asylum seekers were not 'ordinarily resident' for the purposes of the law.
  
  Click here for more
  
  
• [17/03/2009] Tinsley House IRC blockaded by protesters
  
  Anti-deportation campaigners blockade immigration detention centre to prevent Iraq deportation flight
  
  Anti-deportation campaigners are risking arrest to stop thecollective expulsion of approximately 50 Iraqi refugees from the UK.Campaigners have locked themselves to the gate of Tinsley Housedetention centre at Gatwick airport, where some of the deportees arebeing held, in an attempt to prevent the forcible deportation.
  
  A special deportation charter flight is scheduled to leaveStanstead airport to Iraqi Kurdistan (northern Iraq) later today. Ifit went ahead, this will be the eighth time in the last eight monthsthat people have been deported to Iraq by charter flight.
  
  Unlike many other European countries, the UK government isrefusing to ratify Protocol 4 to the European Convention on HumanRights, which prohibits the collective expulsion of foreigners.
  
  One of the protesters, Brian Arcola, said: "Charter flightslike this are the latest step in the government's macabre immigrationpolicy. Aside from the ethical implications of handcuffing anddeporting innocent people under the threat of the baton, by nottelling them when they're going to be deported they deprive manypeople from adequate legal representation. If there's to be any truthin the claim that Britain is a tolerant, fair country, this has got tobe stopped."
  
  One of the deportees, whose real name cannot be used for his ownsecurity if he goes back to Iraq, said earlier on the phone:"I've been in the UK for nine years. I have a partner and an18-month-old son. If I am deported, all this will be gone. I've made alife for myself here, living as everyone else does in this country,but I'm now being treated like I'm a criminal, imprisoned thendeported." He added: "I left Iraq originally because my lifewas threatened by a radical Islamic group. That same group is now morepowerful than they were before. I won't be safe, I won't besafe."
  
  Another Iraqi refugees, who was deported last month and prefers tokeep anonymous, said: "I don't know when I'll see my partner ormy daughter again. I speak to them in tears on the phone every night.I am still in shock after being sent back. I have had to change myname so I'm not targeted by the same people who threatened to kill mebefore. My entire world has caved in."
  Source: Riseup
  
  
• [17/03/2009] Sent back by Britain. Executed in Darfur
  Failed asylum-seeker followed home from airport and shot by Sudan security officials here for Independent article
  
  
• [11/02/2009]Forced returns to DR Congo in full swing
  
  
  Since the British courts rejected a recent Country Guidance case that presented a wealth of evidence that asylum seekers forcibly returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo risk being persecuted by the authorities, the Home Office has stepped up its attempts to deport people to that country.
  
  It appears that despite reports from reliable sources such as Human Rights Watch that people perceived as being in opposition to the regime of Joseph Kabila are routinely arrested, tortured and extrajudicially executed, particularly in the Kinshasa, Bas-Congo and Equateur regions, the British Home Office is intent on sending vulnerable individuals who will be seen as political dissidents back to the country they once fled for fear of their lives.
  
  The Congolese in the UK have a track record unmatched in any other European country of demonstrating and campaigning vociferously against the Kabila regime. As recently as 30 January 2009 a contingent of Congolese people in London stood facing the Rwandan embassy protestly loudly about complicity between president of DRC Joseph Kabila and president of Rwanda Paul Kagame and the Rwandan occupation of Eastern Congo (see photos). Most Congolese in the UK believe that Kabila has more ties with Rwanda than with the DRC and the facts speak for themselves. Little has changed since he was fraudulently elected as president by his European and American supporters. In the course of the protest, demonstrators set fire to the Rwandan and French flags.
  
  It is alleged that a delegation of government officials from Kinshasa has signed an agreement with their British counterparts that asylum seekers sent back to the DRC will not be harmed, thereby giving the British government the green light to meet their target of repatriating 4,000 Congolese. It is also alleged that a charter flight is being prepared, possibly in the next couple of weeks. If true, it may coincide with the date of the last charter flight deportation of more than 30 men, women and children on 26 February 2007, most of whom have since had to flee to neighbouring countries because of the persecution they were subjected to on and after their return and are now living lives of fear, misery, deprivation and total exclusion.
  
  
  
  The Home Office has already begun swooping in on the most vulnerable asylum seekers and the ones most easily detained - sole women and their children and those singled out for deportation because they have fallen foul of the law. Many of those facing the UK's brutal immigration policy of deporting foreign criminals have committed nothing more serious than driving offences or shoplifting or using false documents in order to work, essential sometimes just to survive. After serving their initial sentence, many will have their hard-won right to remain in the UK revoked, they are subjected to lengthy periods of immigration detention, sometimes well in excess of two years, maybe four times as long as their original prison term. If they are eventually deported because they run out of tools to fight the order, they will find themselves separated permanently from their wives and children who are left behind to cope alone. And they may face the same abuse from which they fled to seek sanctuary in the UK. It is punishment that far outweighs the crimes they committed and a very dark stain on the so-called civilised credentials of the British government.
  
  
  Kasunga Kamulete, shown in the photographs at the Rwandan Embassy protest wearing combat gear and a green bomber jacket suffered 16 months of immigration detention following a five-month prison term for a driving offence. Zantoto Mbongo in the orange coat suffered more than two years of immigration detention after a stint in jail for a similarly innocuous offence. Since the demonstration on 30 January he has been detained again after only a few short weeks of freedom. The psychological effects on both have been shocking. Kasunga suffers from permanent anxiety and nightmares; Zantoto trembles uncontrollably and cannot sleep. Both Kasunga and Zantoto had won their right to remain in the UK and have been in this country for more than 14 years. If deported they will leave behind four and five children respectively. Even if the British Home Office attempt to justify their warped and racist policy of such multiform punishments for individuals (tantamount to the most extreme form of torture) who lapsed for whatever reason, they cannot justify punishing the children as well by leaving them fatherless. It seems by doing so, we are simply stockpiling problems for the future in the form of a generation of alienated and angry young people. As the saying goes, we reap what we sow...
  
  
  
• [09/02/2009] Afghan Student facing deportation
  Click here and here for more information
  
  
• [05/02/2009] 16 year old Bolton student, who fled to UK after being kidnapped by Taliban, arrested as he signed at Dallas Court Home Office Reporting Centre, Salford.

  Campaigners are calling for the immediate release of a 16 year old Bolton student who was arrested when he went with his father to sign at the Home Office Reporting Centre at Dallas Court in Salford.

  Satnam Singh Gurwara is now detained in the Pennine House Detention Centre at Terminal Two, Manchester Airport.

  Satnam and his family are Sikh and from Afghanistan. They live in Bolton and their local supporters are now urgently petitioning the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, calling on her to order his immediate release.

  Four years ago, when Satnam was 12 and on his way to the Temple with some friends, he was kidnapped by the Taliban in Kabul, Afghanistan.  Before being released two days later, he was badly beaten and his injuries resulted in him having 39 stitches in his arm. Following this incident, Satnam and his family endured constant threats until eventually they sold what they had and fled to the UK in 2007.

  Satnam, who is a student at Bolton Community College, lives with his father Rewander (46), mother Peretpal (39), and his sisters, Jasmeen (17) and Simran (12). 

  His family are extremely shocked and distressed by the events of this week.

  RAPAR, the Manchester human rights organisation working with displaced people, is supporting the campaign for Satnam’s immediate release. He has recently helped set up a YoungRAPAR group to bring together young displaced people so that they can meet and share their experiences.

  Ben Hickman, a member of RAPAR’s Leadership Group, has been working with members of YoungRAPAR.   He said: “I beg people to imagine what it would feel like if Satnam was their son, brother or friend. Satnam is our friend. We are outraged that an innocent young person can be detained like this.  We are doing all that we can to demand that the Home Office release him immediately and return him to his family.  Our thoughts are with him as we cannot be while he is held captive.

  “Satnam is a volunteer with YoungRAPAR and gives his time to work with us to provide a space for young people like himself to feel safe and enable them to make a difference to their own lives and the lives of others around them. YoungRAPAR has set up a Facebook group Release Our Friend Satnam! to add our voice to the call for his release.”

• [05/02/2009] Home Office fails to act as housing providers in Greater Manchester admit crisis in housing of Section 4* status people seeking asylum.
  
  RAPAR, an organisation working with displaced people in Greater Manchester, has been informed that Section 4 accommodation providers in Greater Manchester do not have enough properties to house people who are being granted Section 4. The housing provider UPM (United Property Management) has told RAPAR that over a month ago they directly informed the Home Office that they did not have enough buildings to fulfil their obligations.
  
  The Home Office pays private accommodators to house people who are granted Section 4 status. Once the Home Office has granted Section 4 to an individual, the housing provider has nine working days within which to find the accommodation.
  
  At this time, UPM cannot provide accommodation within nine working days to the numbers of destitute people the Home Office allocates to them. They have been prioritising women, including heavily pregnant women.
  
  Priority Properties, another private accommodator, has similar obligations towards clients from the Congo Support Project (CSP). Since November, a CSP Section 4 client has remained without the shelter that is their basic human right.
  
  RAPAR has also been made aware of the following: Five of the 10 Local Authorities in Greater Manchester � including Manchester - have stopped allowing any buildings to become allocated as Section 4 houses for any new Section 4 people. Recently, Salford has been identifying areas where it does not want any more section 4 people to be introduced.
  
  In partnership with the Manchester Branch of the Zimbabwe Movement for Democratic Change (MZMDC), Manchester Committee to Defend Asylum Seekers(MCDAS), the Congo Support Project(CSP) and The BOAZ Trust, RAPAR is breaking the silence that surrounds the Home Office's failure to act upon the fact that it is violating the basic human rights of people seeking asylum who have been awarded section 4 status.
  
  Dr Rhetta Moran, Matron of RAPAR, said:

  'The Home Office must secure temporary accommodation immediately to fulfil its legal obligations to house the many people who have been awarded Section 4 and are on the streets of Greater Manchester or being looked after by church and ground level community networks.�

  Notes:
  Section 4 If your asylum application has been rejected, you must return to your country of origin as soon as possible. However, you may be able to receive short-term support while you are waiting to return to your country. This is known as section 4 support because it is given under the terms of section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
  
  There are strict requirements you must meet in order to qualify for section 4 support. You must be destitute and satisfy one of the following requirements:
  • you are taking all reasonable steps to leave the United Kingdom or placing yourself in a position where you can do so;
    
    
  • you are unable to leave the United Kingdom because of a physical barrier to travel or for some other medical reason;
    
    
  • you are unable to leave the United Kingdom because the UK Border Agency believes there is no safe route available;
    
    
  • you have either applied for a judicial review of your asylum application in Scotland or applied for a judicial review of your asylum application in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and been given permission to proceed with it; or
    
    
  • acommodation is necessary to prevent a breach of your rights, within the meaning of the Human Rights Act 1998.
    
    
• [26/01/2009] National Audit Office report about New Asylum Model

  "There is no system for identifying decisions to grant asylum that were incorrect". Click here for more - Published on Friday 23rd January.

• [19/01/2009] Women's Asylum News / Issue number 79
  Refugee Women'S Resource Project @ Asylumaid - excellent informaiton resource with a particular focus on developments relating to women
  
  In this issue, Leading article: New Research Report:'Relocation, Relocation - the Impact of Internal Relocation on women asylum seekers' p.1-3 RWRP Update: Asylum Rights Watchp.4 Significant Legal Cases:
  • p.4-6 Sector Update p.6 UK Events and Conferences
    
  • p.7-8 UK newsp.8 International news p.9-12 New UK Publications p.12-13
  
  New International Publications
  
  
• [15/01/2009] PCS : The War in NAM heats up
  
  PCS met with Matthew Coates, head of immigration, as part of nationalconsultations on the 22nd August, and the current situation within theasylum teams was high on the agenda.
  
  
• [15/01/2009] Prisoners: Foreigners / House of Commons / 13 Jan 2009 : Column 721W
  
  Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners held under immigration detention powers were held in (a) prison and (b) the immigration detention estate as at 1 December 2008. [245783]
  
  Mr. Woolas: On 1 December 2008 there were 526 ex-foreign national prisoners held in prison and 1,175 held in the UK Border Agency's detention estate.
  
  Please note that the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill, will progress through the House of Lords to its' conclusion and then to the House of Commons.
  
  Second Reading: Monday, 26 January 2009
  
  

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