AAWG

Mothers win right to family life in the UK

Two mothers, both of whom have lived in the UK for over 10 years and whose children were born here, have resisted efforts to return them to Jamaica and have now won the right to stay in the UK under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act (Article 8, the right to respect for private and family life.)  One woman took part in the 40 day hunger strike at Yarl’s Wood Removal Centre to bring attention to the injustice of her case.

I won the right to stay after four long years of fighting even to get my asylum case heard. My four children were lost in Burundi where I was forced to leave them when I fled for my life after being imprisoned, raped and tortured. Any spare penny that I had since coming to the UK was spent looking for my children. When I won the right to stay I renewed my efforts. I found a reliable man who has some experience in detective work who was ready to search. In July 2008, he located three of them in Uganda.

At first, contact with my children was very difficult. They were deeply traumatised by being separated from me for so long. For all those years they hadn’t known if I was alive or dead. With the help of Women Against Rape, I am applying for settlement visas for the children to join me. We are waiting for the outcome of their applications.

As many of you will know, on 20 January, Flavia Nambi, our dear friend and colleague, was removed to Uganda. We are deeply upset and enraged at her inhumane treatment. We were in touch with her until the last minute when she called from the plane screaming and terrified.

Detained in Uganda

On arrival at Entebbe airport, Ms Nambi was held for eight hours. Officials demanded £200, an enormous sum in Uganda, to release her. We called on her dedicated MP, John McDonnell, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to intervene. Ms Nambi was eventually let go but how many other people returned by the UK government, are terrorised in this way? What happens to those without international support and no money to pay? A man from a local church who came to collect her was also detained and questioned for an hour.

Brief background