[matilda] refugee repatriation

[fabian]

Am 30.11.2005 um 00:51 schrieb mark cohen:
>
>
> The Guardian responded that they couldn't find any confirmation that 
> the repatriations were still happening. I thought that several 
> Sheffield based refugees were repatriated not very long ago, does any 
> one have any details, specifically dates about repatriations that I 
> could forward to the Guardian to reinforce the point.
the guardian should know better, they reported themselves last week:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1647113,00.html

no one from Sheffield was among them 15 as far as is known by CADDI, 
the campaign against detention and deportation of Iraqis in Sheff...
but many (over 100 at least) were made destitute here over the last 
weeks, because they didn't want to return "volontary"....
there is a fine line of argument there. The gov. is taking housing and 
benefits away from people who do not return volontary, so they become 
homeless, as they are not allowed to work either...the gov hopes that 
this forces them to return even if they don't want it, and they can 
still call it volontary....this is important rethorically and legally, 
because the UNHCR (Untied Nations High Commission for Refugees) has 
given green light only to volontary returns into three Iraq kurdish 
provinces, the point of the UNHCR is that the refugees need to evaluate 
for themselves wheater its safe enough for them to return (this depends 
for example on intact family/social networks in the area people return 
to
With the pressure on the Iraqi Kurds in the UK to loose their benefits 
and end on the street the gov. is effectively trying to push people 
into 'volontary' return, rendering the attribut 'volontary' absurd.

The forceful deportation that happened last week Monday is one step 
further, and there is another flight to be coming soon apparently. The 
gov. is getting away in this case with blantantly breaching the UNHCR 
advise and forcefully returns people into Iraq. The point you raised 
against the gov. is completely justified. Iraq is considered unsafe to 
travel to by the forgein office and we just need to open the newspaper 
to see it for ourselves...
behind the deportation is again nasty politics....one day after the 
forceful deporatation (last week tuesday) the home office annouced that 
they wouldn't be able to meet Blairs target for the end of 2005 to 
deport per month more failed asylum seekers than new asylum claims are 
rejected...this is to reduce the number of people living in Briatain 
'illegally'....the BBC called the forceful deporatation "a highly 
symbolic move" because of that link...giving to the right wingers to 
appease them over the failed target of being "firm and fair" (Blair) in 
immigration matters.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4456480.stm

tonight is a meeting of CADDI in the kurdish restaurant on Spital Hill 
at 6.30....
on saturday is a talk in Sheffield about the immigration system with 
Steve Cohen from NO ONE IS ILLEGAL, people from the sukula family and 
kurdish support campaigns
Saturday 3rd December at 2pm @ SADACCA Community Centre, 48 The Wicker, 
Sheffield

you're welcome

Fabian

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