Bishop of Ripon and Leeds speaks out against removal of Aseng and her children on the "deportation charter flight" to DR-Congo

"Aseng has come from a country that the Home Office itself recognises as dangerous but nevertheless is prepared to send people back to. I find it hard to believe that there will not be violence for Aseng and her family."

The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, Rt Revd John Packer.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/6386459.stm


On Friday 16th February Aseng Nzoabar and six children, aged between 3 and 17 years, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) were detained in a "dawn raid" in Leeds.

They are being detained at Tinsley House Removal Centre and have been given removal directions for Monday 26th February on the "deportation charter flight" to the DRC, little more than a week ahead of a "country guidance" case in the Tribunal on March 7th.

Aseng fled the DRC to seek asylum in the UK nearly four years ago. Since then, the family have made a new life in Leeds.

Aseng's Story
Aseng came to the UK with her family in April 2003 and claimed asylum later that year. When she arrived she was ill, confused and did not speak English. Her claim for asylum was based on the fear of persecution because of her ethnicity in the ongoing war and violence in Ituri Province where the family lived, in the Eastern part of the DRC.

Aseng says that she had been detained, raped and abused in the DRC. She was afraid that her sons would be taken away as child soldiers, which she says is common practice in that area. She felt she had no alternative but to flee to save her family.

The Home Office has consistently refused to believe Aseng's story. Aseng made a fresh asylum claim after the family was detained last year, but this has been refused.

Over the last four years, in spite of illness, fear and uncertainty, the family has struggled to make a new life. They have made friends in their new home, Beeston, Leeds and the children have won recognition in local schools for their achievements.

The childrens' classmates have swung into action and started a Petition to bring their friends back to school.

Please help us to keep this family in the community !
Background about the Democratic Republic of Congo
There are many reports of the devastating affects of the war and violence that has taken place over the last ten years in the DRC. Around four million people are estimated to have died from war-related causes and over two million are refugees within their own country. Although elections were held in 2006, many sources indicate that this has not solved the underlying problems and that violence is continuing or even escalating.
Risk to Returned Asylum Seekers
IAS Research Analysis, DRC (May 2006) report says ; "According to the Independent Race and Refugee News Network returnees to the DRC are "handed over to the offices of the Director-General of Migration (DGM), ostensibly the Congolese immigration service but, in reality, an arm of the government's security services." The source goes on to state that returnees who have claimed asylum in Europe are "automatically regarded by the ANR [the National Security Agency] as threats to national security in Congo. Simply because they have claimed asylum in the West is enough for the Congolese authorities consider them political dissidents."

So Aseng could be branded a political dissident simply because she claimed asylum in the UK. She and the children could face imprisonment and torture on return. The DRC authorities know which passengers are deportees because a UK officer personally hands them over in the airport, as revealed by a Freedom of Information Act response by the Home Office on December 4th 2006.

Many believe that ALL DRC deportees are in danger because they risk being interrogated at the airport to see if there is a political "charge" against them, or just to extort a "fine", as described in a previous case heard by the Tribunal. Some don't have any means to pay a "fine" and may be imprisoned, possibly indefinitely.

The Home Office admits in it's Country of Origin Information Report on the DRC (27/10/06) that DRC prison conditions are "life threatening", synonymous with disease, hunger, abuse, torture and death. In it's own Operational Guidance Note on the DRC (05/05/06), the Home Office concludes that "Prison conditions in DRC Š are likely to reach the Article 3 threshold."

Given that reports of deportees having been abused on return to the DRC are highly likely to be reviewed by the Tribunal on March 7th, why has the Home Office planned a charter flight to remove large numbers of Congolese families on February 26th ?

What you can do to help Aseng and her children
Fax the Immigration Minister, Liam Byrne, using the attached model fax AsengMinsiter.doc, or write your own fax (please include Aseng's HO Ref: IFB03/072829/R)

Fax no. - 020 7035 4745

Fax Aseng's MP, Hilary Benn, using the attached model fax AsengMP.doc, or write your own fax (please include Aseng's HO Ref: IFB03/072829/R)

Fax no. - 0113 234 1176

What you can do to help all the deportees on the "deportation charter flight"
Send faxes to XL Airways, who is the charter airline involved, and the Home Secretary - model faxes available ;

19 Children & 27 adult DR Congolese to be deported by 'Charter Flight'
 http://www.ncadc.org.uk/newszine79/charter2.html