The callous hypocrisy of our asylum system
By Nigel Morris and Ben Russell
The Independent
Published: 02 October 2007
Gordon Brown has been accused of failing to match words with deeds when it
comes to standing up for refugees fleeing some of the world's worst
tyrannies.
At the Labour Party conference last week, Mr Brown promised to stand up for
those suffering persecution in Burma, Darfur and Zimbabwe, singling those
regimes out as the world's "darkest corners" and adding that "human rights
are universal".
Yet the Home Office is continuing to reject applications for refuge from
Burmese dissidents and is embroiled in protracted court battles to enable
the enforced removals of Zimbabweans and Darfuris.
The double standards have been exposed in interviews with asylum-seekers
from all three countries and have provoked fury among refugee groups and
MPs.
Lay Naing was jailed for several years in Burma for speaking out against the
junta that has put down protest so brutally over the past week. Abdul Ismail
Mouamen lost his brother, father and cousin to the violence sweeping the
Sudanese region of Darfur. Lynn Gambese (her name has been changed to
protect her identity) fled Zimbabwe after learning that President Robert
Mugabe's henchmen were coming for her. If the Home Office got its way, all
three would be sent home to face the threat of repression, brutality and
even death.
Donna Covey, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: "From Burma to
Darfur to Zimbabwe, people who have suffered persecution are coming here and
asking for safety. Instead of protecting them, we are turning them down and
forcing them into destitution. This must end. Apart from anything, what kind
of message does it send out to oppressive regimes? If the Government is
committed to protecting people who are persecuted, it should not forget
those who seek sanctuary on our shores."
Keith Best, chief executive of the Immigration Advisory Service, said:
"There's a degree of hypocrisy in government which shouldn't be tolerated.
When the public knows what's happening in places like Burma how can even the
most right-wing person say people should be returned there?"
Only a handful of Burmese asylum-seekers arrive in Britain each year,
although last week's bloody scenes could increase the numbers escaping from
the country. Mark Farmaner, director of the Burma Campaign UK, said: "The
Government has led condemnation of the regime but when people come here to
claim asylum they are not treated with respect or kindness. They are turned
down, face delays or are dragged to airports fearing torture or death. The
regime has spent people to prison simply for claiming asylum."
The Home Office was forced to suspend enforced removals to Zimbabwe two
years ago after the Court of Appeal ruled that removals were not safe.
Ministers insist that applications should be judged on a case-by-case basis.
Campaigners counter that the very fact of having sought refuge in Britain
would make a failed asylum-seeker a target for the Mugabe regime. A fresh
ruling from the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal is imminent. Some 1,000
Zimbabwean asylum-seekers lost their applications last year and face
deportation if the Government wins.
The House of Lords hears a test case this week over deportations to Sudan.
The Home Office is appealing against a ruling in April by the Court of
Appeal that removing people to Khartoum would be "unduly harsh". But
campaigners warn that asylum-seekers returned to Khartoum are regarded as
spies and say there is evidence that they could face harassment or torture.
James Smith, the chief executive of the Aegis Trust, which campaigns against
genocide, said: "What is important is the political messages that are given
by the Government to the governments of Sudan and Zimbabwe. You can have all
the rhetoric from the Prime Minister or the Foreign Secretary but on a
day-to-day basis you have the Home Office working with Sudanese officials."
Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: "It would be an
utter disgrace for a government which pays lip service to the idea of human
rights even to consider deporting someone to Burma, Sudan or Zimbabwe. No
government which really valued human rights would even consider such a
measure."
John McDonnell, the Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington and chairman of the
party's Socialist Campaign Group, said: "The system is brutal, inhumane and
puts people's lives at risk. There is a deep contradiction between the
Government's statements of concern for the people of countries like Burma
and Darfur, and the brutal way in which we treat asylum- seekers from such
countries."
The UNHCR, the United Nations' refugee agency, insists people should not be
deported to Zimbabwe, citing evidence of human rights abuses. Its latest
report on Sudan argues that "no non-Arab Sudanese originating from Darfur
should be forcibly returned until such time as there is a significant
improvement in the security situation in Darfur." The UN's latest resolution
on Burma condemned "ongoing systematic violations of human rights" in the
country.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: "The Government has grave concerns about the
appalling human rights situation in Zimbabwe, Darfur and Burma and continues
to press for an end to abuses. We will continue to provide protection
through the asylum system for people from these countries with a
well-founded fear of persecution.
"But this does not mean everyone is at risk of persecution. Each case must
be considered individually. That is what we do and will continue to do,
ensuring that those who need our protection receive it, while those who do
not can be returned."
Victims of persecution
Abdul Ismail Mouamen, Darfur
The 29-year-old farmer watched as Janjaweed militiamen killed children and
.d women in his home town of Mistriah, Darfur.
Mr Mouamen told yesterday how he watched soldiers forcing children into a
house before setting it alight. He lost his brother, father and cousin and
has no idea whether his wife is alive.
Now he fears he too will be killed if he is deported from Britain and sent
to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. Campaigners say Darfuri people returned
to Khartoum are regarded as Western spies and face harassment, imprisonment
or death. Mr Mouamen, who lives in Middlesbrough, has twice had claims for
asylum rejected since he fled Sudan in 2003.
"I'm a black African man and if I go to Khartoum they will realise who I am
... Everything I have said is all true."
Lay Naing, Burma
Lay Naing has paid a terrible price for his involvement in Burma's
underground movement. He endured "torture and humiliation" in prison and was
forced to flee the country with his pregnant wife in fear of his life. Now
he is fighting to stay in Britain after having his asylum application turned
down twice. "I am very upset that the authorities in Britain don't seem to
believe my story," he said. "If I was forced to go back I'm sure they would
put me in prison or kill me." Mr Naing, 34, became involved in
"guerrilla-style" protests by activists who would make impromptu speeches
about the repressive regime. He was arrested and thrown into jail. "They put
me in a room with a very dim light and kept asking me so many questions.
They wouldn't let me sleep. They were trying to break our minds and our
souls." After his house was raided, he said: "I had decided to run as I had
no choice."
Lynn Gambese, Zimbabwe
The teacher is surviving on charity while the Government makes the case for
deporting her. If she was forced to return, "I would be going to back to
face death," she said.
"I thought I would be considered and be given refuge in Britain," she said.
"I never dreamed I would have these problems it was like I was a beggar or
criminal."
Ms Gambese fell foul of the Zimbabwean authorities after she refused to join
raiding parties invading farmers' land or groups beating up supporters of
the opposition MDC. She took the "heart-breaking" decision to flee the
country and arrived at Gatwick five years ago. She has lost contact with her
husband and children.
Her lowest point came when she was locked up in Yarlswood immigration
removal centre, Bedfordshire, awaiting possible deportation. "I can
understand why people commit suicide in those conditions," she said.
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article3018348.ece
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