Update from Unity, 14 October:
Great news!
Moses was released from detention, and arrived safely home in Glasgow! Read more at the Facebook page.
Campaign from Unity, in Glasgow
Moses detained in August, and threatened with removal to Zimbabwe
Moses, a 24 year old Zimbabwean rugby player from Glasgow was detained by the Home Office. They intend to deport him back to Zimbabwe, but legal action has succeeded in getting Moses released from detention, pending a judicial review of his case.
The Unity Centre in Glasgow is supporting his campaign for the right to remain.
Moses started college in 2009, studying for an HNC in computing, where he met his girlfriend, who is now training to be a nurse.
Moses wanted to continue his studies at uni, but hasn’t been able to do so, because of his immigration status. Despite this setback, Moses has made a life for himself in Glasgow; as a devoted member of his congregation - the Glasgow Living Waters Church - as a keen sportsman, and a volunteer at African Caribbean Centre. Moses has played for the semi-professional rugby team Cartha Queen’s Park since 2009, as well as playing with the Glasgow Falcons basketball team.
Moses came to the UK in 2008 to receive medical treatment for an eye condition, but claimed asylum following the escalations in violence during the elections, described by Amnesty International as an “unprecedented wave of state-sponsored human rights violations”, and the collapse in public health and service provision, which left over five million Zimbabweans were in need of food aid by the end of the year. Although there have been some improvements in the five years, this year’s disputed elections show that Zimbabwe is still a dangerous and volatile. Read more on Zimbabwe at the NCADC country information website.
It is unclear if the situation in Zimbabwe will worsen – with fears that the country is on the brink of a new political crisis, it is clearly not a safe country to force people to return to. According to the BBC, not only are political strife and repression commonplace, but “poverty and unemployment are endemic”. Moses has lost contact with his family in Zimbabwe, and does not have any social links or support networks there – if he was forced to return he would be totally alone in a dangerous country with no means of supporting himself.
Moses’ health deteriorated after being detained as he was denied access to the treatment he needs following a corneal transplant. He needed to see his consultant but the Home Office were refusing to release him from detention to attend appointments, if the situation continued, Moses was at risk losing his sight.
Moses’ life is at risk in Zimbabwe, where he faces not only the danger of being persecuted by government forces, but also the threat of generalised insecurity and crippling poverty in the country, and his health will also be threatened by the lack of medical treatment available for his condition.