Teresa Lau Manuel Must Stay in Leicester
John O | 15.10.2006 13:15 | Gender | Migration | Social Struggles | Birmingham
Teresa came to Leicester on 25 March 2004. She spoke Kikongo and Portuguese, and so went to Leicester College to learn English. She followed this with a Child Care course at Leicester College that she completed in July 2006. Her certificate says "to have achieved it required determination and skill, qualities which help you shape a valuable career". Teresa now faces removal from the UK on Friday 20th October 2006.
Model letter to Faxe to Liam Byrne
- application/msword 22K
Teresa Lau Manuel
Teresa Lau Manuel Must Stay in Leicester
Why do we want your help?
Teresa, aged 19 years on 28th October, is from Cabinda, a small area in Angola that has consistently sought independence. It has oil. The Angolan Government is not ready to allow independence and liberation-fighters in Cabinda are constantly at risk.
The situation in Cabinda is deteriorating and the Government of Cabinda are seeking international help.
[Citing an Angolan grab for disputed oil and mineral resources and the growing threat of an all-out war, the Government of Republic of Cabinda, FLEC-FAC (Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda - Armed Forces of Cabinda), and The National Bank of Cabinda have filed an urgent request for intervention by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. 30 September 2006]
Teresa came to Leicester on 25 March 2004. She spoke Kikongo and Portuguese, and so went to Leicester College to learn English. She followed this with a Child Care course at Leicester College that she completed in July 2006. Her certificate says "to have achieved it required determination and skill, qualities which help you shape a valuable career". Teresa enrolled for a nursing course that she should have started in September, before she was taken into detention.
Teresa is 19 and has a lot of things she could do with her life. She is a strong member of Candlestick Church a Christian Church where she has responsibility for organising the services on a Sunday. She says: "My life is difficult now but I trust that God will look after me but I'm still afraid of what Immigration may do to me. I know that God will be with me whatever happens."
Teresa's father was a freedom fighter with 'Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda - Armed Forces of Cabinda' (FLEC-FAC), and she grew up to know that she is from Cabinda, rather than Angola. Her father gave her responsibility for being the voice of the young people there. One day in 2004, the Angolan secret service came to the house while there was a FLEC-FAC meeting. Teresa was cooking outside. They rounded everyone up. Teresa and her little sister were beaten and taken with others through a jungle area to the prison, but her sister was very sick and dying.
Teresa was told to leave her - because her sister was dying in her arms, they said they should kill her sister first because she was already dead. She lay on the floor and would not move. They left her there, presumably because she was difficult to move and they had to herd the others to prison. From information given by people who know her family, Teresa is convinced that her mother and father are dead.
She has 3 other brothers and 2 sisters and is trying to trace family members through Red Cross.
A friend of the family arranged passage for Teresa out of Cabinda and she found herself in England, aged 17. Teresa told her story to the Home Office they did not believe her. She went to Court they did not believe her. A friend arranged for her birth certificate to be brought here but the Home Office did not believe it. She is thought to be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and doesn't perform well in stressful situations like Court.
Officers from Immigration went to Teresa's house at 6.00am 5 weeks ago, and she is now being held in Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre next to Gatwick Airport. Teresa is now booked on a flight from Gatwick airport to Luanda, Angola on 20th October - that's next week! She is desperately trying to find documents that will show she is from Cabinda in the hope that they will be recognised by our system.
She is terrified that if she is returned and given over to the Angolan authorities, she will be targeted and possibly killed for her involvement with FLEC-FAC, freedom fighters for Cabinda.
The Home Office won't take trouble to find out what happens to her. They are only interested in sending her to Angola. Teresa is sure that she will be targeted if she returns to the country because her family is known for its support of FLEC-FAC, and she thinks it likely that she will be 'disappeared' or killed - at the age of 19!
Sheila Mosley,
on behalf of Teresa's friends and LCRM
How you can help Teresa Lau Manuel stay in Leicester:
Friends of Teresa and Leicester Civil Rights Movement (LCRM) have set up a campaign, they are asking recipients of this message to: Fax Liam Byrne, Minister for Immigration, using the model letter 'Attached', That you can copy/amend/write your own version.
Fax: 020 7035 4745 from outside the UK + 44 20 7035 4745
Please notify the campaign of any faxes sent:
Teresa Must Stay Campaign
C/o LCRM
Sheila Mosley
077 5188 8391
smosl@yahoo.co.uk
Why do we want your help?
Teresa, aged 19 years on 28th October, is from Cabinda, a small area in Angola that has consistently sought independence. It has oil. The Angolan Government is not ready to allow independence and liberation-fighters in Cabinda are constantly at risk.
The situation in Cabinda is deteriorating and the Government of Cabinda are seeking international help.
[Citing an Angolan grab for disputed oil and mineral resources and the growing threat of an all-out war, the Government of Republic of Cabinda, FLEC-FAC (Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda - Armed Forces of Cabinda), and The National Bank of Cabinda have filed an urgent request for intervention by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. 30 September 2006]
Teresa came to Leicester on 25 March 2004. She spoke Kikongo and Portuguese, and so went to Leicester College to learn English. She followed this with a Child Care course at Leicester College that she completed in July 2006. Her certificate says "to have achieved it required determination and skill, qualities which help you shape a valuable career". Teresa enrolled for a nursing course that she should have started in September, before she was taken into detention.
Teresa is 19 and has a lot of things she could do with her life. She is a strong member of Candlestick Church a Christian Church where she has responsibility for organising the services on a Sunday. She says: "My life is difficult now but I trust that God will look after me but I'm still afraid of what Immigration may do to me. I know that God will be with me whatever happens."
Teresa's father was a freedom fighter with 'Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda - Armed Forces of Cabinda' (FLEC-FAC), and she grew up to know that she is from Cabinda, rather than Angola. Her father gave her responsibility for being the voice of the young people there. One day in 2004, the Angolan secret service came to the house while there was a FLEC-FAC meeting. Teresa was cooking outside. They rounded everyone up. Teresa and her little sister were beaten and taken with others through a jungle area to the prison, but her sister was very sick and dying.
Teresa was told to leave her - because her sister was dying in her arms, they said they should kill her sister first because she was already dead. She lay on the floor and would not move. They left her there, presumably because she was difficult to move and they had to herd the others to prison. From information given by people who know her family, Teresa is convinced that her mother and father are dead.
She has 3 other brothers and 2 sisters and is trying to trace family members through Red Cross.
A friend of the family arranged passage for Teresa out of Cabinda and she found herself in England, aged 17. Teresa told her story to the Home Office they did not believe her. She went to Court they did not believe her. A friend arranged for her birth certificate to be brought here but the Home Office did not believe it. She is thought to be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and doesn't perform well in stressful situations like Court.
Officers from Immigration went to Teresa's house at 6.00am 5 weeks ago, and she is now being held in Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre next to Gatwick Airport. Teresa is now booked on a flight from Gatwick airport to Luanda, Angola on 20th October - that's next week! She is desperately trying to find documents that will show she is from Cabinda in the hope that they will be recognised by our system.
She is terrified that if she is returned and given over to the Angolan authorities, she will be targeted and possibly killed for her involvement with FLEC-FAC, freedom fighters for Cabinda.
The Home Office won't take trouble to find out what happens to her. They are only interested in sending her to Angola. Teresa is sure that she will be targeted if she returns to the country because her family is known for its support of FLEC-FAC, and she thinks it likely that she will be 'disappeared' or killed - at the age of 19!
Sheila Mosley,
on behalf of Teresa's friends and LCRM
How you can help Teresa Lau Manuel stay in Leicester:
Friends of Teresa and Leicester Civil Rights Movement (LCRM) have set up a campaign, they are asking recipients of this message to: Fax Liam Byrne, Minister for Immigration, using the model letter 'Attached', That you can copy/amend/write your own version.
Fax: 020 7035 4745 from outside the UK + 44 20 7035 4745
Please notify the campaign of any faxes sent:
Teresa Must Stay Campaign
C/o LCRM
Sheila Mosley
077 5188 8391
smosl@yahoo.co.uk
John O
e-mail:
ncadc@ncadc.org.uk
Homepage:
http://www.ncadc.org.uk