| Aminata
Taal and her baby son Mohammed Must Stay
Aminata Taal is 24 years old and is a refugee from the war in Sierra Leone.
She has been living in North London and has an eight month old baby Mohammed
Sahid Kalokoh who was born in the UK. She is currently in detention at
Gatwick Airport and the Immigration Service is planning to remove her
on Wednesday 4th December.
In 1999 the RUF rebel forces attacked her family's home in Freetown, burned
it to the ground, killed her father and abducted all of the 7 children,
including Aminata, into their group. The boys were made to fight with
the rebel troops and the girls were forced to do domestic work and were
raped. Aminata was held by the rebels for a year and a half and gave birth
to a baby girl while with them and was released by them in April 2000.
Since the war ended only three of the children have returned. The family
presume that the others, three girls and one boy are dead. Aminata returned
to her mother in Freetown but as the elections were approaching and the
situation was still very unstable she was afraid the would be recaptured.
Civil war did break out again. She gave her baby to a family friend who
took her to the Gambia and left the country with the help of a dutch man
who arranged travel documents for her. She arrived at Gatwick Airport
on 30th August 2001 and claimed asylum on 17th September 2001. She was
refused asylum despite her horrific experiences during the war. In 2002
Aminata's mother died of a heart attack.
The situation in Sierra Leone now is chaotic and unstable. There are a
great many people homeless in Freetown and throughout the country due
to the activities of the Rebel RUF and the Sierra Leone Army who rampaged
through the country burning houses, schools, hospitals and infrastructure
such as water and power facilities. Many people live in Internally Displaced
Peoples camps in Freetown in appalling conditions, which are not supported
by the government and have no funding or food support or medical facilities.
Many women are forced into prostitution in order to survive and provide
for their children. HIV and AIDS is on the increase and many young people
are dying from AIDS related illnesses. Medical facilities are extremely
poor. Sierra Leone is the poorest country in the world according to the
UN Index having the highest infant mortality rates (1 in 3 under fives),
the lowest average life expectancy, the lowest literacy rates and the
highest maternal mortality rates.
If Aminata were removed to Sierra Leone with her baby there would be a
high risk that he would die of malnutrition, fever or diarrhea. She would
have no support, no home, no way to feed her baby and would be likely
to be forced into prostitution in order to survive. Please write to David
Blunkett, using the following model letter asking him to allow her to
stay on compassionate grounds. What you can do to help
Fax/write to the Home Secretary David Blunkett, using the model
letter 'Attached', which you can copy/amend/write your own.
Fax no: 020 7273 3965 from outside the UK + 44 20 7273 3965
Or write to:
David Blunkett
Home Secretary
Home Office
50 Queen Anne's Gate
London SW1H 9AT
Please take time to send a copy of anything sent to:
Aminata Taal
c/o NCADC
Cambridge House
131 Camberwell Road
London SE5 0HF
Enquiries/further information:
Allison Bennett
Phone: 020 7701 5197
ncadc-london@ncadc.org.uk
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