NCADC, National Meeting, October 1999

                               
Anick and Oneeka Danjinou.......                Salome Isaac Macharia Tyson . . .         Sauda Nkopi, Lal Mohammed,Brian and Taanisa

West Midlands ADC hosted NCADCs national meeting in Birmingham on Saturday 9th October. This was the largest meeting yet - well done to all concerned in organising the meeting and encouraging people to attend. There were seven new campaigns, and we also heard updates from 17 other campaigns.

Pauline Akwa , from London, came to the UK in 1998. She was taken to the police station and her passport and children were taken away from her. She is not allowed to work or claim benefits. She is campaigning with International Black Women for Wages for Housework.

Ben Amoah has lived in the UK for 18 years. He left Ghana after being attacked by soldiers. His wife suffered a miscarriage after a beating. He has had three hearings and a deportation order was made against him in the summer. He is campaigning with Newham Churches Immigration Group and hopes to get a JR of his case.

Lal Mohammed and his aunt Sauda Nkopi came to the UK from Tanzania in 1995. They were refused asylum in 1996. Their campaign has support from Lal’s school. They have held protests and sent petitions to the Home Office.

Isaac Macharia Muraya came to the UK from Kenya in 1997. He was held in detention for 7 weeks. His case is now being reviewed by the Home Office.

Hussein Kasujja came to the UK from Uganda in 1990. He was detained in Tynsley House for seventeen months before being granted bail. He won a Judicial Review of his case last summer. He is supported by PayDay Men’s Network.

Anick and Oneeka Danjinou who won their family campaign earlier this year.

There was a discussion on strategy including campaigning against the Immigration & Asylum Bill. It was agreed that NCADC continue to participate in the Coalition for Asylum & Immigration Rights (CAIR) and to donate £200 towards that organisation’s work. We also agreed to endorse the Women Against Rape statement of opposition to the Immigration Bill, and to affiliate to the National Assembly Against Racism. In the discussion it was stressed that we need to reach more people and build broader campaigns - by holding meetings, demonstrations and lobbies.

A paper on whether to support all campaigns was discussed. There was also discussion on how and when to campaign, the danger of fast-track removals that give no time to gather evidence, and the break-up of families that results from UK immigration policy.

The next National Meeting will take place in Manchester at the Methodist Central Hall, on Saturday 26th February. 2000. Contact your nearest campaign or NCADC direct if you would like to attend.

Shafiq-ur-Rehman in another deportation battle
Shafiq-ur-Rehman, a mullah in Oldham, won his battle against deportation after a ground-breaking appeal in September. He was the first person to have his case heard before the new Special Immigration Appeals Commission, which considers cases affecting national security. The Commission ruled that he should not be deported.
A Home Office bid to appeal against the decision was rejected. But now Home Secretary Jack Straw has been given permission to take its case for deporting Mr ur-Rehman to the Court of Appeal.

Doris Omoregie has suffered another setback in her family's campaign to remain in the UK and to bring her husband Frank back from Nigeria. Early in 1999 a concession was introduced by the Home Office, saying that minors who had been living in the UK more than seven years would not normally be deported, and that if their parents were here they would be allowed to remain with them.

Representation was made to the Home Office on behalf of Doris' eldest son, Benjamin, who is eight years old and born in the UK. Benjamin and Doris fit the criteria but the Home Office rejected the application, inferring that Doris has been 'playing the game' ("Mrs Omoregie has chosen to delay the families removal for 42 months").

This decision seems totally irrational - the concession is for children and the action of the parents should not influence the way the claim is considered. Children do not have any choice over where they are born.