| Dominic Belongs to Nottingham |
Dominic Belongs to Nottingham
*Taken away: 'They came for us at night' Since Dominic Junior Mwafulirwa came to the UK from Malawi in April 2003 with his mother, Cecilia, they have lived mainly in Nottingham. They are enthusiastic and committed members of the congregation at St Augustine's Roman Catholic Church and Dominic attends St Augustine's Catholic Primary School, where he recently received a Governors' Award for academic achievement. Dominic is now eight years old and has lived in the UK for six years. He enjoys playing with his friends and his favourite subject is Maths. Dominic's life was suddenly turned upside down when he was detained with his mother in February 2009 in a dawn raid on their home. They were forced into a caged prison van and taken to Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre, where staff told them they must return to Malawi, a country Dominic has no memories of as he was just two years old when they left. He kept asking his mother to explain why they were in detention, saying: "Detention is for bad and naughty children. I have never had detention in school before. I have not done anything wrong." During the 50 days Dominic spent in Yarl's Wood IRC, he came across one detainee who had attempted to hang herself, witnessed another self-harming and says he heard so much crying it gave him headaches. He and his mother were released after Dominic contracted chicken pox, but he has been deeply traumatised by these experiences and is now withdrawn, confused and frightened. He cannot understand why he is not allowed to stay in the UK, asking: "Are we really that bad that they don't want us here? I thought this was my home". He is also upset because some of the toys he had to leave behind when he was taken into detention have been lost by the family's previous housing provider. It would now be in Dominic's best interests for him to be granted leave to remain in the UK with his mother so that he can continue to access the specialist counselling and support services he requires to help him recover from this terrifying ordeal. Friends of the Family have set up a campaign to keep Dominic in the UK. They have created a petition, which you can download from here (Dominic Petition.pdf), which they are asking you to print off, sign and get as many signatures as possible, Please return completed petition sheets as soon as possible to: The same petition is also online @ http://www.gopetition.com/online/27308.html From: "Clare Clements" <beechurst@btconnect.com> *Taken away: 'They came for us at night' Dominic Mwafulirwa trembles at the words "Yarl's Wood". The eight-year-old was asleep when six guards wrenched him and his mother, Cecilia, 35, from their Swansea home in the early hours three months ago. They had arrived in the UK from Malawi when Dominic was a year old. Cecilia, who had run away from an abusive husband, started a new life in Wales, where Dominic excelled at school. That life ended abruptly when the men arrived. "Dominic didn't say a word from the time they came until we were locked up," Cecilia says. "It was hard to keep his spirits up. When I asked him why he wasn't going to the school at Yarl's Wood, he said: 'What's the point? We're not learning anything.' He refused to wash and started smashing things. He's still really angry and confused. "We spent 50 days in that place. I lost 20kg. I'm a sickle cell patient and by the end of the 50 days my haemoglobin was too low. I'm really anaemic and they knew I had depression. They changed my medication and they threatened to take my son away." Cecilia and Dominic have been out of Yarl's Wood since the end of March. They have yet to find out whether they will be allowed to stay in the UK. End of Bulletin: Source for this Message: |
