National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns (NCADC)

Metin is now in detention, after reporting to immigration officials at Dover, last Saturday and is now awaiting deportation.

His wife and three of their four children, Mazlum (12), Nazim (10), and Ali (6) have also been served with notice that they should leave the country on Tuesday, June 25th. Baby Inan (2) was born here, and has not received a deportation notice.

The Duman Family Must Stay Campaign are determined to support the family in their fight to remain in Britain.

The Duman family came to England three years ago to flee years of harassment and persecution that they had suffered as Kurds in their part of Turkey. They were not allowed to speak their own language. Mr.Duman has suffered arrest many times and his life would be in danger if her returned to Turkey.

Baby Inan was born in England while his three brothers have made enormous progress at their schools. Mazlum is now at Crofton school, while Nazim and Ali are at Forster Park School, Downham, where Nazim has been chosen for a Gifted and Talented programme in Maths.

The Chair of Governors, the Governing Body and the headteacher at Forster Park School, as well as the headteacher at Crofton School, have already added their support to the Duman Family Campaign, along with many others including Steve Sinnott, the Deputy General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers. We support the right of the Duman family to remain in Britain. Mr and Mrs Duman do not want their children to suffer in the way they did. We want the children to remain amongst their school friends and to continue to play their part in the local community.

In the next few days, Forster Park School, Lewisham NUT and the Duman Family Must Stay Campaign will be organising protests against this threatened deportation. We hope to hold a press conference at Forster Park School and a lobby outside the Home Office.

In the meantime you can join the fax protest to, Beverley Hughes M.P. Minister for Nationality and Immigration, model letter and fax number below.

For further details, contact:
Sheila Amrouche
teacher at Forster Park School: 07766 517122
or Martin Powell-Davies
Secretary Lewisham NUT: 07946 44 54 88

Duman Family Must Stay campaign
c/o Lewisham NUT Office
Ladywell Leisure Centre
261 Lewisham High Street
London SE13 6NJ.

mailto:  Duman_Family_Must_Stay@yahoo.co.uk
Back Ground:www.ncadc.org.uk/Duman-Family-Must-Stay.html


model letter:


Att:
Beverley Hughes M.P.
Minister for Nationality and Immigration
Home Office
50 Queen Anne's Gate
London
SW1H 9AT

Dear Mrs. Hughes,

Re the Duman Family, Refs: D1011628 for Sahile Duman and her children, and D1011081 for Mr Metin Duman.

I am asking you to allow Mr Metin Duman & Mrs Sahile Duman and their children Mazlum, Nazim, Ali and Inan to remain in Britain. This Kurdish family suffered persecution in Turkey. And as you are well aware that since May of this year, there has been an upsurge of violence by the Turkish authorities against Kurdish people.

They came to Downham, South East London, in June 1999. In three years the boys have made enormous progress at Forster Park School and Crofton School. But Mr Duman was detained in Dover on 15th June. Mrs Duman and her children are due to be deported on June 25th. If the family is deported, the children's educational progress would suffer, and they would be torn from their schools and their friends.

I am asking you to exercise your ministerial powers and allow the Duman Family to remain in the UK on compassionate grounds.

Yours Sincerely,

Name

Address

Country


Please Send copies of anything faxed to:
Duman Family Must Stay campaign
c/o Lewisham NUT Office
020 8314 5270 from outside the UK + 44 20 8314 5270