Florence and Precious Belong to Glasgow |
Florence is terrified of returning to Malawi because of what her husband and his family may do to her and her daughter. Florence’s mother has already been threatened by her husband and his family and if she is returned there is a real danger that Florence and Precious will face harassment and violence. Florence is active in her local church and she and Precious are important members of the Cranhill community in Glasgow. The UKBA have said that Precious would be able to adjust to living in Malawi despite that fact she has lived here since the age of 4 and doesn’t speak Chichewa, the native language of Malawi. Mother and daughter have twice been imprisoned by the UK Border Agency, in their attempts to force them to leave the country. They were given removal directions for a flight to Malawi from Heathrow on 23rd November 2009, but last minute legal action and pressure from hundreds of supporters stopped the flight. Florence’s friends and supporters in Scotland are shocked by the UKBA’s attempt to forcibly remove them from their home in Glasgow. We are calling for them to be allowed to live in peace in Glasgow where they belong. Florence and Precious have strong local campaign and the support of many Scottish politicians, but they still need your help to lobby the Home Secretary. See the Facebook group for the latest information and for details on how you can help. Campaign update, 11 March 2010 Subject: Fundraising appeal and letter writing campaign Dear All We now need to raise several thousand pounds more than we have to pay for the judicial review for Florence and Precious. We don't have a date yet but the last thing we want is for one to be suddenly sprung on us and we've not even thought about fundraising. If you've not sent a donation yet (and can afford to do so), please do. Could you perhaps think about organising a fundraising event? I'd be happy to send you leaflets and / or cards to give to people to explain what it's all about. Make sure you TELL US if you've sent a donation - you never know, we might have to send it back if the Home Office agree to our appeal. (How to donate). Can you also please send an invitation to join the Facebook group to all of your friends and post something on your Facebook status update inviting people to join? By Friday we will have Mother's Day cards made up - similar to the Valentine cards with the tear off postcard to send to the Home Office. If you would like to distribute some please let me know and I'll get them to you. On Saturday, I will be speaking at a demo in Glasgow on wider asylum issues but we will be giving the cards out at that so feel free to come along and join us and/or help us! Also, can you let me know if you've written to the Home Office already? If not, can you please do it now? The aim of the letters is to get the Home Office to agree to halt the judicial review and simply grant them leave to remain. Click here to download a model letter. I think that's it on Florence and Precious except to tell you that they are well and hopeful but becoming anxious because we'd hoped the home office would have changed their minds by now. However they're okay on the whole. Thanks again! Best wishes, Anne You can donate money to the legal and campaigning fund at: Account name: CRANHILL WORLD CAFÉ, or by sending a cheque to Cranhill Church, 109 Bellrock Street, Cranhill G33 3HE. Campaign Update, 23 February 2010 Anne McLaughlin sent this message to the members of the Facebook group FLORENCE AND PRECIOUS BELONG TO GLASGOW Over ONE THOUSAND members now!!! Dear All My worries that the success in the high court would have people believing the fight for Florence and Precious Mhango was all but over and therefore they weren't needed any more, were unfounded. The numbers of members of this Facebook group are still increasing DAILY and today, we have more than ONE THOUSAND members. Welcome all new members and please, join what we hope will be the final phase of the campaign, by sending a letter to the Home Office. All those who haven't done it yet, please do it. It won't take long and I've even written the letter for you - you can download it here
Feel free to change / add / simply cut and paste the from letter - and send it to your friends to get them to do it. And thank you!! Anne PS Update is that the papers for the judicial review have been lodged but the point of the letter is to ask the Home Office to drop it and just let them stay. Campaign Update 11 February 2010 We have good news - just a little while ago, in their appeal hearing, the Mhango family was granted their right to move to the next stage in their judicial review. We will keep you up to date on the next steps, timescales, etc, but just wanted to say thanks for all your support and hard work thus far and encourage you to keep the pressure and awareness raising work going - it is working! Media Reports: The story made the front page of the Evening Times in Glasgow: Legal boost for mum, daughter over deportation and a follow-up two page spread - We'd love to stay in friendly Glasgow And in the Scotsman newspaper: New hope in Precious deportation fight Precious, who lost about ten pounds in weight during her incarceration in Yarl's Wood, wrote a three-page story called "Detention Day (D-Day)" about her experience. She wrote: "It (Dungavel] is a horrible place. No friends, no good fun and no smiles from my mum." Referring to Yarl's Wood, she wrote: "That's the worst place in my life. I lost hope that we were going to go back to Glasgow. There was no more happiness in my life. I never stopped praying." On her return to Glasgow she wrote: "I am so scared of the Home Office. I feel like I'm living in the darkness, I don't know when I'm going to see the light." Sam Paterson, community (integration) development worker at the Cranhill Community Project, said: "There has been a big sigh of relief. This is a positive result but it is not over yet. Everyone here has been really genuinely concerned that they would be deported." Mr Paterson said the judicial review announcement would give the community more time to raise funds to pay the Mhango's legal costs. The legal bill is likely to be more than £4,500, of which about £3,000 has been collected through donations and raffles. Last weekend campaigners gave out Valentine cards in Glasgow city centre addressed to Mr Johnston, asking him to drop all Home Office objections to the Mhangos remaining in Scotland. Full story here Also reported on the BBC News Website Campaign Update 4 February 2010 Message from the campaign team in Glasgow. Dear All Please don't think my not being in touch means we've stepped down a gear with the campaign. The opposite is true but what we're working on to assist with the appeal, has been less public and more research based. However, we are now looking for help from all of you and there are a number of ways in which you can help. 1) We are re-launching our letter writing campaign and broadening it out. It would help enormously if everyone could now write to Alan Johnson the Home Secretary and ask simply to give the Mhangos leave to remain. (Their appeal is next Wednesday 10th Feb but whatever the outcome and even before the appeal, it would be far better if the Home Office simply recognised that after nearly 7 years in the UK, this is their home.) 2) Letters to your local newspaper. I can email you suggestions, but obviously it's better if it's in your own words. 3) DO YOU HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE OF MALAWI? I know a number of our members are Malawian and more have visited / worked there. If you have any experience at all we'd like to ask you a few questions so please email Esther.Sassaman@scottish.parliament.uk if you can help at all. 4) Donations - so far, between us all, we've raised £4,200 which is just brilliant. My estimates are that the total fees so far will be around £5,000 and we may have a judicial review to pay for which is likely to be considerably more. Obviously anything you can send or extract from other people will be very very useful. I can't tell you how grateful Florence is for everything you've done for her and Precious so far. I have some beautiful photographs of the two of them and we have some activities this week which myself, Esther or Stewart will tell you about in due course. So from Florence and Precious and all their friends in Cranhill, thank you for everything and please, support us in phase 2 of the campaign to keep them here. As somebody said to me last night "there is nothing more precious than freedom" so let's keep fighting for them. Anne Email/Fax, Rt. Hon. Alan Johnson MP Secretary of State for the Home Office asking that Florence and Precious be granted protection in the UK. Fax: 020 8760 3132 (00 44 20 8760 3132 if you are faxing from outside UK) Emails: Privateoffice.external@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk Campaign Update, 25 January 2010
Florence is waiting to hear if her legal challenge to asylum refusal will be allowed - a decision on whether a judicial review can proceed will be made on 10 February. On the programme, Anne McLaughlin, Member of Scottish Parliament and one of the organisers of the campaign, debates with a British Government minister the rights(?) and wrongs of locking up children. Campaign Update, 19 January 2010 First of all, the Facebook group has a new name - 'Florence and Precious Belong to Glasgow' - to reflect the fact that the Mhangos are not presently in detention but are still under the threat of detention and deportation, so the campaign continues. We're looking for your help to spread the word about Florence and Precious' plight. They are currently back at home in Cranhill, but required to sign in at the Border Agency office in Glasgow each week, and their lawyer Paul Chen QC is building a case for judicial review of their claim to asylum. They still face detention and deportation. We need more money for the legal fund and more political pressure on Home Secretary Alan Johnson MP - so if you haven't already can you please donate to the campaign and write expressing your support for the Mhangos to Johnson? Information about this is on the info page of the facebook group. Most importantly, if you are on Facebook, please invite all your friends to the Facebook group so they can spread the word and raise the profile of this case. We are also interested in knowing if any individuals would like to donate some of their time to fundraising and raising awareness of this case, and in attending a local meeting to coordinate efforts? If so, please get in touch via fb message and we will pass on details. We could also organise an online meeting for supporters who are a bit further away. Finally, remember that Florence and Precious will be appearing alongside Cranhill campaigners on The Politics Show this coming Sunday, 12PM on BBC1 Scotland, on their special on child detention. Please tune in! source: Esther, for the Florence and Precious Belong to Glasgow campaign Campaign Update, 17 December 2009 After four weeks in immigration prisons, and saved from deportation by a strong campaign and last minute legal intervention, Florence and Precious Mhango are back home in Glasgow. Anne McLaughlin, Member of Scottish Parliament and one of the campaign organisers, sent a message to supporters on the Facebook page : "They're out. They're coming home. They'll be back by morning and they are both very, very happy. It's not over yet but at least Precious is not locked up and she's coming back to Glasgow". Florence had sent a text, saying: "They've let me go, I'm coming back to Glasgow, I am so happy". Good campaigning + good legal rep = freedom. For more information and details on how you can help, see below. Campaign Update, 12 December 2009 A message on the the Urgent Action Facebook group for Florence and Precious called for supporters to send cards and letters to keep up their spirits in the immigration prison. Anne McLaughlin, Member of Scottish Parliament, wrote this message about the response. 12 December 2009 I just wanted to let you know that I spoke to Florence and Precious today and they have been receiving your cards and gifts. It's made a huge difference. I heard Florence laugh today for the first time since I've known her. And she was excited as she told me she had cards from Germany, Italy and all over the UK. I spoke to Precious and she is a lot better. She chatted to me and her voice was much stronger. She too was telling me about all the little cards and presents. I would not for a second suggest that she's fine now but she's much more optimistic and she's stronger. I think she was feeling cut off from the outside world and all of your cards and gifts make her realise that we all care. I can tell her that we all care and I do, but now she has the evidence. So please keep sending them. If we are successful and they are sent back to Glasgow, I will email everyone immediately so perhaps before you post, you should check on Facebook. Don't let the hope that they'll be out of there soon stop you sending something - as I said, it's making a huge difference and it's such a simple thing to do. Thanks everyone who's sent cards so far. Fingers crossed for a positive result this week. Best wishes, Anne Campaign Update: 10 December 2009 Florence and Precious need your support Venue: Buchanan Street, Glasgow City Centre at the Borders Bookshop. Volunteers urgently required. Even for 30 minutes Sign the online petition here: http://www.petitiononline.com/pmhango/petition.html media reports: Asylum family held at Dungavel granted reprieve BBC News Salmond joins fight to save Scots girl, 10, from being deported The Scotsman |
Florence Mhango and 10 year old Precious talked to the BBC of their experiences of imprisonment in the UK.