For an end to detention centres

Movement for Justice have been organising monthly demonstrations at Harmonsworth Detention Centre, strongly giving the message that Detention must End.

Dignity for Asylum Seekers will join this protest on September 13th.  

The End of Detention Centres

We are going to the protest because we need the government to hear about the problem of asylum seekers and refugees. They must listen to us and solve the problem of our asylum applications taking a very long time and then often being wrongly refused. The Home Office must make fair decision on our cases. Our lives are stopped when they make wrong decisions – they cut our air, we can't breathe.

We come from different countries and we face hardship, fighting, war. In many cases the British Government has been involved and has some responsibility for the people whose lives have been uprooted. We come here but our problems continue.

They detain us. Detention is like a jail, they put the persons in the jail yet they aren't guilty. They haven't done anything. They have not committed a crime. So why they stay inside a detention centre? We need our freedom back. If we make more protest we can help more people get out, and come together and spread the news and tell the Home Office to close all these detention centres.

The solution is to close all these detention centres, and instead look at our cases fairly and give people the right to remain.

We need all the MP's to understand this. They can't forget us. We will keep knocking at their doors. They must listen to the people and stand with us. They must write to the Home Office to support us.

We go there because we are inspired by Movement for Justice. We feel part of a European movement of people fighting for the rights of all migrants. We spread the word and the news of the campaign to end detention to other people and inivte everyone to join together, from other cities. We must spread the news on the internet, and on tv and in newspapers that are not against us.

Detention is no good for us. You detain a person and you take away their freedom of movement. It is not fair to take this away. This unjustice does not solve their problem, it makes the pressure on our lives bigger.

We hope we close all detention centres. They shouldn't deport people. Where do we go? Its not safe. If we go back maybe they kill us. Anything could happen to our safety. We need a safe place and live in Dignity.

If you would like to come with us, please email asylumisnotacrime@mail.com

Bristol West constituent and resident Kabran due to be deported to life threatening situation in less about 6 hours.

Great news an injunction to stop Kabran Eric's Flight has been granted! This means he won't fly today, but he will remain in detention. Thank you all so much for your help. Let's keep on fight this unjust system! Kabran may be save today, but the system is broken 

Kabran's deportation cancelled less than 4 hours before the flight, system not right #‎STOPdeportations‬ @DignityBristol 

Kabran Eric is part of our Dignity group family.

Sadly despite our efforts, Kabran Eric told us he is being moved ready for deportation and doesn't think he will have access to his phone. As you can imagine we are really upset about this and extremely worried about him. He faces real danger in the Ivory Coast, due to his involvement in the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), with his brother and friends having been killed.

We are still fighting, just this morning his solicitor has made extra submissions and lodged an injunction application at the High Court and his MP Stephen Williams' office has written to the home office and over 500 people have signed his petition online and on paper in support of Kabran Didier-Eric Yao and many people have been phoning and e-mailing Kenyan Airlines. We have 6 hours left to make a fuss about this injustice. 

Please share your outrage on Twitter and Facebook and write to his MP Stephen Williams, whose office is being very supportive of Kabran. We need to share how frustrating this system is and how it needs to change.

Kabran has new evidence which hasn't been looked at yet. It does not make sense for him to be deported without even looking at this fresh evidence supporting his claim.

Talking to Kabran on the phone last week during our

Dignity Group Iftar Dinner, which he had planned to cook.

Kabran was detained on 2 weeks ago on 16th July, since then we have been campaigning and supporting him. He was given removal directions just one week ago. We believe this rushed process intentionally prevents Kabran and many others from having their case fully examined and considered.

Kabran's asylum case was refused a few months ago and since then new evidence has come to light. New material was published which added to his case and additional evidence was received. Prior his detention Kabran wanted to put in a new case, but he was not able to access legal aid and was unable to find any legal representation. Even after he was detained we spent a lot of time trying to find a solicitor willing to represent him, many were too busy or unable to take on a client in detention and eventually a friend of his found and paid for a solicitor for him.

Rushing into deporting people, whilst denying them access to legal aid and not exploring their evidence is wrong and is a sign of an asylum system which prizes removals of people over protecting those at risk from political and other forms of persecution as the UK has agreed to through the Refugee Convention and Protocol. 

Kabran update - can you contact Kenya Airlines to stop a deportation?

Kabran’s removal is scheduled for Wednesday, and we won’t find out until the last minute whether efforts from his solicitor and MP have been successful. If they are unable to cancel the deportation, the next opportunity to win time for Kabran’s fresh claim is through the airline itself - Kenya Airlines.

Many campaigns have been successful in persuading airline companies to refuse carriage, thus effectively preventing a removal. Kenya Airlines has responded to positively to public pressure in the past.

If you can, please telephone Kenya Airlines on +44 20 82831800 (London office) or +44 020 8759 7366 (Airport office, listed as Emergencies only) and ask them not to participate in the unjust deportation of Kabran Didier-Eric Yao

Please write to them at customer.relations@kenya-airways.com and UKres@kenya-airways.com and/or fax their London office on +44 020 8283 1880

To help you, we have drafted the letter below. Please feel free to use it as it is or to make any changes you see fit - unique, personalised messages are probably even more effective, but sheer volume of response is also persuasive.

If you get a response, please let us know on asylumisnotacrime [at] gmail.com.

Thank you!

The Kabran support team





Dear Kenya Airways


I am concerned about the safety of a passenger booked on your flight KQ101 to Nairobi at 20:00 on 30.07.14, and KQ520 to Abidjan 09:05 31.07.14.

His full name is Kabran Didier-Eric Yao (HO ref A1827716). He is scheduled to be deported against his will, by the Home Office, despite having a strong prima facie case for humanitarian asylum and fresh evidence to submit a new claim.

Kabran fled from Ivory Coast, where his life was in danger due to his involvement in the Ivorean Popular Front (FPI). When the FPI lost power after a disputed election in 2010 more than 3,000 FPI supporters were killed, among them Kabran’s brother.

I believe this is as strong as evidence for a direct personal threat to life is ever likely to get, and that the Home Office is acting unlawfully and against its moral duties and international legal obligations.

Kabran will no doubt be escorted onto the plane by security guards, but he is likely to be fearful and distressed - he is anticipating a life-threatening situation when he arrives, and it is only just over a year since he fled, so it is likely the situation is still very dangerous for former FPI supporters.

His very understandable fear and distress is likely to show and be distressing to other passengers, and create a very negative impression of the airline, for accepting the contract with the Home Office to remove someone so unjustly.

A petition from Bristol friends, who know Kabran from the Refugee Welcome Centre (https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/let-kabran-stay), has received over 400 signatures and is being presented to our MP today, in the hope of cancelling the deportation instruction to gain time for Kabran to present fresh evidence to support his application for humanitarian refugee status.

Please consider his safety on and after the flight, the likely distress to other passengers, and the reputational risk to your company.

It is also not only the Home Office's legal and moral responsibility to uphold international humanitarian law, it is every individual and organisation's responsibility. Complying with the order from the Home Office is no excuse, it is not "just doing a job", it is sending someone back into serious personal danger against their will, and retrospectively it might be judged unlawful.

Please refuse to transport Kabran against his will, to help make sure Kabran has a fair chance and a proper hearing for his humanitarian asylum claim.

Yours sincerely

Sign here

Share our support for Kabran

Many thanks to all those who have already signed the petition to free Kabran Eric at https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/let-kabran-stay we have over 200 signatures, lots of retweets and facebook shares and some actions which is great!

Lake District Arts Projects sends a message of support for Eric
Please send any photos of support or action to
asylumisnotacrime@mail.com

Please keep spreading the word, get your friends involved and share by email, Click to share on Facebook and Click to share on Twitter, or good old fashioned word of mouth. We don't have much time as Kabran has removal directions for 30th July, so we need to act now!

The last few days have involved lots of phoning solicitors to try and get legal representation for Kabran. It has really brought home to us the volume of people in detention who are in need of legal support, and the need for more availability of legal aid to fund immigration cases. The Home Office has created a completely unjust situation in which hundreds of vulnerable people are denied access to the help and support they need simply by bureaucracy.

In the next few days, we will be increasing the pressure on local MP Stephen Williams to intervene on behalf of Kabran, using the petition (online at https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/let-kabran-stay and some signatures we have collected on paper). Watch this space for updates on our plans to deliver the petition to Stephen Williams early next week.

No-one is free until we are all free.

Please sign and share this petition for our friend Kabran, currently detained at Campsfield: https://t.co/uKnSd54UZh via @38_degrees
— Dignity4AsylumSeeker (@DignityBristol) July 24, 2014