Max, and his wife Onoya and their 3 children Jean- Marc (14), Grace (11) and Genuine (4), who was born in Scotland, have lived in Glasgow for 6 years. They have made Glasgow their home and are very active in the community. They attend Castlemilk Community Church and are members of the Chayah Ministry. Onoya suffers from high blood pressure and is under medical supervision for her condition, which is not stable.

Jean-Marc and Grace both attend Lourdes Secondary - both children love school and are doing extremely well. Jean-Marc has a history exam this week that he has been studying hard for ! Genuine attends a local nursery school. This family belong to Scotland !

Originally from the DR Congo, the family fled in 2001 to the UK after Max's company was accused by President Kabila's soldiers of helping rebels. Later, the family home was raided and Onoyo and the children were threatened and kept under house arrest and pressured to tell the whereabouts of Max. Onoyo bribed the security men to let them escape and a friend helped them flee to the UK where they met up with Max.

Onoyo worked for the Immigration Service in Kinshasa and if returned will be persecuted and classed as a traitor, accused of revealing government secrets. Max will still face the same accusations he fled in 2001.

This family belong to Scotland, where they have many, many friends. We want them returned to Glasgow!

Dawn raids and the detention of families are an outrage and should be stopped.

The Home Office want to return the Waku family back to the DR Congo on Monday 26th March via Kenya Airlines.

They may have signed a peace treaty in DR Congo and elected a new government but DR Congo is still uninhabitable for human beings.

US State Department report/DR Congo 2006:
In all areas of the country, the human rights record remained poor, and numerous serious abuses were committed. Unlawful killings, disappearances, torture, rape, and arbitrary arrest and detention by security forces increased during the year, and the transitional government took few actions to punish violators. Harsh and life-threatening conditions in prison and detention facilities; prolonged pretrial detention; lack of an independent and effective judiciary; and arbitrary interference with privacy, family, and home also remained serious problems. Security forces continued to recruit and retain child soldiers and to compel forced labor by adults and children. They also continued to abuse press freedom, particularly during the election campaign. Also during the campaign, broadcast stations owned by Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba promoted ethnic hatred. The transitional government continued to restrict freedoms of assembly and movement; government corruption remained pervasive; and security forces restricted Non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In addition, societal discrimination against women and ethnic minorities, trafficking in persons, child labor, and lack of protection for workers' rights continued to be pervasive throughout the country.
 http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78725.htm

1) How you can help the Waku family return to Glasgow:
Fax Liam Byrne, Minister for Immigration, using the model fax (Attached - AksuML.doc), which you can copy/amend/write your own (please ensure inclusion of Max Waku's, full name and H.O. Ref: W1036246)

Fax: 0207 035 4745 (+ 44 207 035 4745 from outside the UK)

Please send copies of any faxes/petitions to the Unity Centre

UNITY!
The Unity Centre
30 Ibrox Street
Glasgow G51 1AQ
0141 427 7992

 theunitycentre@btconnect.com
www.unitycentreglasgow.org