Annociate was arrested at 6.15am on Friday 12th September. Her solicitor received a letter to say that her fresh claim had been refused later the same day. At 4pm she was collected by the Border and Immigration Authority and taken to Manchester, and then to Dungavel, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. We fear that she may be given flight directive very soon.

Vulnerable young woman faces deportation to Burundi tomorrow - urgent action needed !

Annociate Nimpagaritse from Sheffield is being held in Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre and has "removal directions" for today Wednesday 5th March 2008 @21:00hrs to Burundi. Please take urgent action now to help us get Annociate back to Sheffield where she belongs.

Annociate is from the minority Tutsi ethnic group and was born in Bujumbura, the capital city. She says that various family members were killed by Hutus in 1993. Annociate says that in 2004 a number of armed men, who she believes to have been from the FNL (Forces nationals de liberation), a Hutu rebel group, shot and killed her parents at the family home. Annociate says that she and her siblings managed to escape from the house and fled to a refugee camp but she became separated from them and does not know their whereabouts. Annociate fled to the UK in 2005.

The immigration judge in Annociate's appeal accepted that "The conditions in the camp were appalling and there was little food to eat. The Appellant lived in the camp for a period of one year but constantly feared further attacks by Hutus. Her account was consistent with the objective material contained in the latest CIPU report [from the Home Office] on the Burundi."

However, the immigration judge refused Annociate's asylum claim. Annociate made a fresh claim April 2007 but this has now also been rejected.

Annociate fears persecution on the basis of her ethnicity and gender, and her belief that
she could not get protection from the government.

"I am terrified of what the Hutu FNL might do to me after killing my parents. Beside, the FNL have declared me as a wanted person in Burundi. I believe that some of its members, jealous of our family wealth, may have intentions to appropriate our house and other properties in Burundi and as a result would want to ensure that they eliminate every single one of us since my parents are already out of their way"
Annociate Nimpagaritse

In February 2008 Burundi was listed 5th on "The Index of State Weakness in the Developing World", developed by the Brookings Institute and the Centre for Global Development.

"The FCO [Foreign & Commonwealth Office] country profile for Burundi stated, "The human rights situation in Burundi remains poor, with widespread abuses committed by all parties, particularly in the rural areas surrounding the capital. Tens of thousands of people remain internally displaced. Killing of civilians, reprisal killings, torture, rape, theft, illegal and arbitrary detention, and forced labour have been reported. Rape and gang rape against women, girls and boys is on the increase. The judicial system has little capacity to act in timely and impartial manner, and impunity is pervasive … The USSD, Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005, 8 March 2006, noted that … The PALIPEHUTU-FNL [Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People/National Liberation Front] continued to commit numerous serious human rights abuses against civilians, including killings, indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas, kidnappings, rapes, theft, extortion, the forcible recruitment and employment of children as soldiers, and the use of forced labor."
Home Office country report on Burundi, 14 March 2007.

Annociate is a young woman who is very vulnerable, traumatised by her past, and at great risk because she has no family or other support in the country.

"She [Annociate] suffers from post traumatic stress disorder"
Dr Lucy Manning, Central Health Clinic, Sheffield - letter dated 22/03/07

Annociate has been part of life in Sheffield as a member of St Marie's Cathedral Church, and the choir, Ephaphatha. She suffers from post traumatic stress after her experiences in Burundi, but has slowly been recovering with support from her counsellor and friends. She has gradually been able to get involved in the charity ASSIST, helping destitute asylum seekers in Sheffield.

What you can do to Help:

1. Fax/Phone/Email Wolde Abza, Area Manager Ethiopean Airways UK & Ireland and urge him not to carry out the forced removal of Annociate. You can use the Model letter which you can copy/amend, or write own version (in which case, please remember to include the following information: Forced Removal of Annociate Nimpagaritse on Ethiopian Airlines on Wednesday 5th March on the 21:00 flight ET701 to Addis Ababa and onwards on Thursday 6th March on the 10:15 flight ET807 to Burundi)

Fax: 020 8747 9339 - from outside the UK + 44 20 8747 9339

Phone: 020 8987 7000 (9:00am to 5:30pm)

2. Fax the Rt Hon Liam Byrne, Minister for Immigration asking that Annociate is allowed to stay in the UK. You can use the Model letter which you can copy/amend, or write own version (in which case, please remember to include Annociate Nimpagaritse's Home Office ref. no. N1111367)

Fax: 020 8760 3132/ from outside UK+ 44 020 8760 3132

Please notify the campaign of any faxes sent:
Friends of Annociate Nimpagaritse
Contact : Myra Davis on mwd2020@talktalk.net

Source for this Message:
Friends of Annociate Nimpagaritse