[noborders-brum] Fw: Block Hazel Blears email and phones on Monday! Support Olive Mukaraguwiza

[Steve Cohen]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Steve Cohen 
To: DAVIDGE MICHELLE 
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2006 9:32 PM
Subject: Block Hazel Blears email and phones on Monday! Support Olive Mukaraguwiza


MAKE MONDAY A DAY OF PROTEST! 
PROTEST TO HAZEL BLEARS MP

Two weeks after a dawn raid on her Salford home, Olive Mukaraguwiza and her children are still in custody in Yarls Wood. They would be in Rwanda already if protests had persuaded the pilot not to fly the family. Hazel Blears is the constituency. She is also a Home Office minister with power to stop the removal. LastTuesday there was a successful picket of her surgery.

We are now asking everyone to block Hazel Blear's email and phone lines this Monday (February 20th) with messages of support for Olive. We want three simple points to be stressed. First Hazel Bleas as a Home Office minister  has the ability to quickly and easily intervene with the Home Secretary to stop this deportation. Second Sandra the daughter is about to take her A levels. Third Olive is now in a depressed and suicidal state.

Hazel Blears email is blearsh at parliament.uk  Her phone is 0161 925 0705

Further details are given below in a press release:
Since 6am last Tuesday a Salford family have been held in detention at Yarls Wood Removal centre resisting deportation to Rwanda. Olive Mukaraguwiza and her children Yvan Gisinko (aged 5), Oliver Hirwa (aged 17) and Sandra Gihozo (aged 18) after having lived in the UK for 3 years were arrested at dawn.  

Significant issues
(1) Olive is an asylum seeker. She fled Rwanda after years of severe domestic violence towards her and her children. Wherever she lived in Rwanda her husband pursued and attacked her.

(2) The eldest daughter ,Sandra, has been studying her A levels for almost 2 years at Pendleton College. She has been offered places at 3 universities. Just at the point of taking exams she has been arrested -for doing nothing wrong

(3) The youngest child, Yvan, has lived most his life in the UK. He attends Lower Kersal School in Salford. His teachers and classmates are extremely concerned about him being in a prison situation.

(4) The family were not informed of the refusal of their asylum claim by the Home Office. The raid on their house came as a complete surprise.

(5) The Home Office attempted to put the family on a plane to Rwanda last Friday. This was an Ethiopian Airways Flight. However because they were in such a distressed condition the pilot refused to fly them.  Friends of the family are concerned that Olive may harm herself.

Hazel Blears MP
The Member of Parliament for the family is Hazel Blears. Hazel Blears is also a senior Minister within the Home Office. The family have petitioned Hazel Blears to intervene  to stop this cruelty and ensure that the family remains and Sandra completes her exams

Other Salford families in danger
The backstreets of Salford 6 are an area where the Home Office - in line with its forced dispersal policy - have dumped many asylum-seeking families.  The campaign of Samina Altaf and her children has begun to highlight this on a national level. Samina lives on the next street to Olive. She has two children who are crippled with rickets. The Home Office is trying to deport her to Pakistan. Two weeks ago the school (St Sebastians)  of the youngest child (Summama) hosted a meeting in defence of Samina and other Salford asylum seekers. The main speaker was Julie Hesmondhaugh who plays Haley in Coronation St.

Relevant contact details
The Home Office reference numbers for the family are: Olive M1197259; Sandra G1108435; Olivier H1130545; Yvan G1108436



Contact numbers for Hazel Blears are email blearsh at parliament.uk ) and phone 0161 925 0705 


Contacts numbers for the campaigns in defence of Olive (and Samina and all other Salford asylum seekers) are

a) Linda Robson. Tel 211 6775. Mobile 07868 703 928   email   Linda.Robson at salford.gov.uk

b) Steve Cohen. tel 0161 740 8090. email raysteve at cohen70.freeserve.co.uk 

Contact number for Yarls Wood Removal centre is 01234 821800. TO TALK TO A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY ASK TO BE TRANSFERRED TO C260. SANDRA IS THE BEST PERSON TO SPEAK TO

The number of Lower Kersal primary school is 0161 792 2726

The number of St Sebastians school (which is leading the campaign in defence of Samina Altaf) is 0161 736 6875

If you are interested in the issue of primary schools fighting back as a community to stop the deportation of their children then contact St Philips Church of England primary school in Hulme and their headteacher John Daulby. This is the school that lead the way and in respect to which Save The Children have produced a novel for young children explaining the story of St Philips successful campaign in defence of the Okolo family. The tel number is 0161 226 5050
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