Liverpool UNISON healthworker and her husband fight deportation to Afghanistan

Heather Bullen, a British citizen and UNISON health worker, and her Afghan husband Shah have launched a campaign to stay in Britain. Although they are happily married and settled, the Home Office have refused to grant permission for Shah to stay in the UK. They plan to send him back to Afghanistan where he could face persecution and danger. A hearing is set for 9 August.

copied from:

http://www.labournet.net/antiracism/0507/heathershah1.html

In the refusal letter, the Home Office stated that Shah’s “removal to Afghanistan will not interfere with [his] family life” as Heather can accompany him to Afghanistan, and as a result there will be no breach of Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. This is an astonishing statement as the Foreign Office strongly advises against British citizens travelling to Afghanistan due to the high risks of terrorism, kidnappings and suicide bombings. No consideration was taken by the Home Office of the extreme dangers and difficulties a Western woman living in Afghanistan would face.

Heather is a senior Occupational Therapist at Fazakerly Hospital in a key role that directly impacts on the Trust’s waiting list figures and hospital discharges. She is also a UNISON steward. There are national and local shortages of trained therapists.

Please download the background paper, action points and contact details, petition, and model letter which should be posted to reach the campaign by 30 July.

http://www.labournet.net/antiracism/0507/heathershah1.doc
(Word document)

nfn

Comments

Hide the following 11 comments

Let's get this straight

21.07.2005 12:06

The husband is about to be deported. The wife can stay here. If she chooses to go with him, I'm sure she can use her professional skills in Afghanistan, where I wouldn't be surprised if there was even more of a skills shortage than over here.

Mike

RrrA!!!

21.07.2005 15:11

Mike-would you feel safe in Afgahnistan? How do you know this woman can speak Dari or whatever other language they use there? I'd have thought it pretty hard to work in a hospital where you can't communicate verbally with the patients. from what I gathered she was English(?) Sorry to have to be blunt but do you realise that Afgahnistan is a war zone/in a state of lawlessness+general chaos? Or have you been relying on the Corporate media. If Afgahnistan's so wonderful why is it producing most of the world's opium? when under the Taliban it produced none?

Matt K

Foreign & Commonwealth Office Travel Advice

21.07.2005 23:47

The FCO advises against all travel to Afghanistan

http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029390590&a=KCountryAdvice&aid=1013618385513

Howie
mail e-mail: howardpaterson@onetel.com
Homepage: http://web.onetel.net.uk/~howardpaterson

same situation - 110% support!

24.07.2005 22:06

Heather and Shah you have my 110% support! Britain is a discrace! i am in exaclty the same situation with my Iranian husband, please see my article entitled 'My story' and on the National Coaltion of anti-deportation campaigners - 'Keep Jessica & Hossein together!' Our thoughts are with you!

jessica Siavoshy
mail e-mail: justice4hossein@aol.com
Homepage: http://journals.aol.co.uk/justice4hossein/campaign/

Jessica, what do you mean?

25.07.2005 19:37

Your website says 'please stop my husband being unlawfully deported to Iran'. The article goes on to say that your husband is awaiting the outcome of a judicial review. If the review decides your husband will be deported, he will be legally deported. If the review decides he can stay he can legally stay. That's how the law works. I don't want your husband to be allowed to stay just because he wants to and you want him to and some others want him to. That would mean that virtually anyone could come to Britain when they liked and stay here. This policy would make Britain a very odd country in international terms. If however the law says he can stay, then I don't mind him staying. The law is there to be obeyed whether you like it or not.

Mike

Mike

25.07.2005 19:57

You support a system that sends people tortured people back for a second helping of torture?

Thats not even liberal old chap.

From looking at the details of Jessica and Hossein's campaign, it appears that the governement is telling a UK citizen that if she wants to stay with her husband, she has to convert to Islam and live in Iran - the country from which Hossein fled torture.

What law gives the government the right to do this to a British born person?

Which law gives the government the right to send tortured people back to the regimes that tortured them?

We should be told.

No borders

Answers to your Q's

26.07.2005 10:37

'From looking at the details of Jessica and Hossein's campaign, it appears that the governement is telling a UK citizen that if she wants to stay with her husband, she has to convert to Islam and live in Iran - the country from which Hossein fled torture.

What law gives the government the right to do this to a British born person?

Which law gives the government the right to send tortured people back to the regimes that tortured them? '

Question 1.

The government is doing nothing to Jessica. As far as the government is concerned, she can go where she pleases and do as she likes.

Question 2.

As I'm not a lawyer I'm not sure which law gives the government the right to do this or not, but if you consult a lawyer or read the details of the forthcoming judicial review you will easily find out. Just because you don't know what law they are using doesn't mean there isn't one.

Mike

Mike

26.07.2005 10:55

"The government is doing nothing to Jessica. As far as the government is concerned, she can go where she pleases and do as she likes."

What Jessica "likes" is to stay in her own home, to keep her job AND to live with her husband.

Are you sure that the government is not preventing her from doing so?

No Borders

We can't always have what we want

26.07.2005 14:31

No Borders, the government is not interfering at all with Jessica. She can live where she wants and go where she wants and do what she wants. The government is not taking any action against her and is not interested in her at all. She might not be able to live with her husband in Britain because the government might want to send him back to Iran. By your argument, the government is interfering with the life of a wife whose husband has been sent to prison. She might want to live with him, but he has to go into jail. In fact, in this case the wife is worse off than Jessica, as she can't choose to go to prison to live with her husband, whereas Jessica is free to go to Iran or anywhere else in the world to live with her husband if she wants to. I doubt the British government care where Jessica's husband lives as long as it is not in the UK. I suggest that if you want to live in this country with someone, you make sure that person has the right to live in this country. There have been laws about a person's right or not to remain in the UK for a long time now, and Jessica and her husband would have been wise to find out about about these laws before getting married, rather than bleating now. We all have to stick to the laws whether we like them or not.

john

Interviewing prospective lovers

26.07.2005 16:30

Says it all really.

Bye Bye

And I'm going to play you out with a lil old Rolling Stones number caller ........

(fade in)

I saw her today at the reception
A glass of wine in her hand
I knew she was gonna meet her connection
At her feet was a footloose man
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you might find
You get what you need
And I went down to the demonstration
To get my fair share of abuse
Singing, we’re gonna vent our frustration
If we don’t we’re gonna blow a 50-amp fuse
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you just might find
You get what you need
I went down to the chelsea drugstore
To get your prescription filled
I was standing in line with mr. jimmy
And man, did he look pretty ill
We decided that we would have a soda
My favorite flavor, cherry red
I sung my song to mr. jimmy
Yeah, and he said one word to me, and that was dead
I said to him
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You get what you need
You get what you need--yeah, oh baby
I saw her today at the reception
In her glass was a bleeding man
She was practiced at the art of deception
Well I could tell by her blood-stained hands
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You just might find
You get what you need
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You just might find
You get what you need

No Borders

Sorry to tell you but OPEN UR EYES DARLIN

06.03.2006 14:02

These guys that are marrying for residence are a bunch or scarey loose canons. Let me give you a warning.From what I have seen in the last 10years I have spent in a middle eastern community is that the plan is if they cant get residence on there bull-crap case that they proberly brought or made up on the plane on there way to your country then they will "marry a woman stupid enough to believe there story" I dont mean to be rude but they do.They will look into your eyes tell you your beautiful blah blah blah tell you everything you want to hear and then Pop the question :hey presto! residence.

I really dont wish this hidious behaviour on any one but Ive seen then planning it, laughing about it Ive seen them use womens lives for over 10yrs then dump the so called convenient wife with nothing but a spit in the face.I have seen it with my own eyes thank goodness Ive never had the terror of actually experienceing it.

Basically they are raised to do what ever it takes to get what they want.

I can promise you that there cases are fake Ive read over 500 and not one was true.

They see westeners as Evil and will end up treating you like crap, because it how they have been raised.

Good luck Darlin there are a few strong men out there.(very few) from what ive seen in 10years I would quiet confidently say 1 in 100 are good.seriousley no crap. I reckon it is totally not worth it leave them to there own.BUT actually the women are worse than the men?

Islam Hell thats another story.

Simon
mail e-mail: Vmustang8ball@yahoo.com