K was a police officer in Jaffna and after a traumatic experience with government forces left Sri Lanka to seek asylum in Europe . His long story includes three months in a gaol in Russia , a trek across Ukraine living on apples and water and a rejection in Norway before he finally arrived in the UK . He was granted temporary leave to stay and permission to work . And work he did , cleaning ( not in government offices mind you !) delivering pizza , serving in petrol stations - anything he could turn his hand to . The last thing he wanted was to be a burden and he was proud to work and pay taxes and join in with his local church community . He was even more proud so when his wife and child joined him and being confident of the future he bought a small house in August 2005 .Life got even better when a second child was born in December 2005 - sadly just before their life was bulldozed by the law .
The family was summoned to an immigration office in Birmingham and they were issues with ID cards and told the permission to work was now withdrawn . K. is a law abiding man and he gave up work . He can't pay his mortgage and wanted to sell his house to pay back the bank . The bank won't allow it as they want him declared bankrupt .
He is now waiting for hand-outs from the government and living in fear of being sent back to a war zone .
In two hours time he has to sign on at the local police staion with his family and they always go with their bags packed as they think each time they will not go back their house .
He's asked my to go with him although I feel powerless should Immigration be their to 'lift' them . Incidentally the local police are very sympathetic ..
So I shall go and see what happens - it's the least I can do - if nothing else it will prove to me that this is really the UK in 2006 and not just some nightmare .