Latest News from Positive Action in Housing

Still Human, Still Here

How we can take action to stop the destitution of people seeking asylum
Saturday 2 February 10am to 1.30pm
Renfield St Stephens Centre, 260 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 4JP

Map: http://tinyurl.com/yoyufs
A crisis of destitution is facing asylum seekers in Scotland. This mini-conference, organised with refugees, Positive Action in Housing and Church Action on Poverty will inform, equip and inspire you on what you can do to take a stand against destitution. It will also give you a tasty lunch!

Whether you’ve only just discovered the destitution in our midst or you’ve been active for a while, this event is for you. A film and campaigning resources will be launched and you will hear from those who have experienced destitution.

For more information or to book a place please contact us at elodiem@paih.org or by phoning 0141 353 2220

Do you have any special requirements? Some help will be available for transport, physical access, interpretation, childcare or dietary requirements. You must let us know so that we can make it as easy as possible for you to attend. Get in touch if you would like to set up a stall.

Help us to publicise this event, please forward this e-mail to your contacts, download and display the poster for this event.

Poster is available at: http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/campaigns/livingghosts/SHSH%20Scotland%20flierA5.pdf

Background info on destitution is available at: http://www.stillhuman.org.uk/

Come along, be inspired and take action!

Dear Supporter,

Time is running out and we need you to do one more thing for 13 year old Meltem.

As you know, the immigration authorities have now set a removal date for 13 year old Meltem Avcil and her mother for 07.30 Hrs, Thursday 15 November via a British Airways Flight No. BA0936 from Heathrow Airport Terminal 1, to Dusseldorf, Germany.

Meltem and her mum therefore need your help immediately – and it will take no more than 30 seconds of your time to write an email to the head of press relations at British airways TO URGE THEM NOT TO REMOVE THE FAMILY.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Please email BRITISH AIRWAYS using the model EMAIL message below asking them not to carry out the removal of Meltem and Cennet Avcil from the UK. Please email :

Julia Simpson, head of media relations, British Airways. Please copy your mail to:

Paul Marston, deputy head of media relations, British Airways, and
Euan fordyce;

(Please do copy/amend/write your own version, quoting Flight No. BA0936 from Heathrow Airport Terminal 1, to Dusseldorf, Germany, at 7.30 HRS on Thursday 15 November 2007)

Thank you for your time and support,

Robina Qureshi
————-MODEL EMAIL below————–

FAO JULIA SIMPSON, HEAD OF MEDIA RELATIONS, BRITISH AIRWAYS

To: Julia.simpson@ba.com

Cc: Euan.fordyce@ba.com; Paul.marston@ba.com; robina@paih.org;

“Dear Julia,

FORCED REMOVAL OF MRS CENNET AVCIL & MELTEM AVCIL

HEATHROW, LONDON TO DUSSELDORF, GERMANY
Further to our telephone conversation this afternoon, I am writing to you about 13 year old Doncaster schoolgirl Meltem Avcil and her mother Cennet who are currently incarcerated at Yarlswood Detention Centre, and due to be removed on your British Airways flight this Thursday at 7.30 HRS from Heathrow Terminal 1 to Dusseldorf, Germany.

Meltem Avcil’s case has recently become a cause celebre across the UK.

Meltem has been living in Doncaster, England for the past six years, since 2001. Her schoolteachers at Hall Cross Lower School, Doncaster, describe her as a ‘No.1 student’. She speaks with an English accent, speaks perfect English, her dreams and aspirations are essentially English, and the only country she knows as her home in the true sense of the word is Doncaster, England where her friends, neighbours, school and community remains. Her 14th birthday is on November 21. For almost three months she and her mother have been in Yarls Wood, and Meltem has recently begun self harming amid fears for her psychological wellbeing.

Meltem and her mother, Cennet, fear removal to Germany, a country they have absolutely no connection with, and from there to Turkey, a country they fled in 2001 because they were persecuted as Kurds.

The family has lived in the UK for over six years and have clear human rights grounds for them to remain in the UK under a family amnesty and to not be removed to Germany:

Meltem Avcil is 13 years old and about to turn 14 on November 21st 2007.
She has been in school in the UK for SIX years
Mrs Avcil and her daughter have NEVER absconded or disobeyed ANY UK immigration rules
Both mother and child have been detained like criminals for almost THREE months
She has had NO schooling since being incarcerated
Her mental and psychological state has deteriorated, from being a normal, healthy bubbly teenager to a scared, depressed, lonely young girl, turning to self harm (She began cutting herself a few days ago)
Their lawyer is still pursuing legal routes to help them remain in this country

The facts of Meltem’s case are very similar to that of the AY family (who you may be familiar with), where the German government gave status to the family on humanitarian grounds, after psychiatric reports showed the children had been psychologically traumatised during their incarceration in the United Kingdom.

I believe that the trauma that the UK government has put Melte Avcil through will haunt her for the rest of her life, and that it is in the best interests of this child to be returned to her home in Doncaster, the familiarity of her school, friends and teachers, and to have access within this comfort zone to psychiatrists to assist her in returning to her former happy self.

The Avcil family’s supporters increasing daily. Hundreds of faxes and emails have been sent to the German authorities since 8pm last night calling on them not to accept Meltem and her mother into their country. Actress Juliet Stevenson has now joined the campaign, alongside other prominent members of the arts community in the UK, to stop Meltem Avcil and her mum being removed to Germany.

Juliet met Meltem Avcil last week while visiting Yarls Wood detention centre with Women for Refugee Women and spoke to Meltem and her mother Cennet. She was shocked when told this morning of Meltem’s imminent removal and has agreed to support the campaign for Meltem and Cennet avcil to stay in the UK. The New Statesman, the Independent, and ITN news is also taking up the story and interviewing Meltem. The local newspapers in Doncaster are leading on the story since last week, and more stories are expected tomorrow. I am sure that British airways, its staff or passengers would not want to be direct witnesses to the suffering of a young psychologically traumatized 13-year-old girl and her mother being forced to leave the only country they know truly as their home.

I therefore respectfully urge you, on behalf of the campaign, not to carry out the forced removal of this family on your airline. No doubt you will hear from some of the campaign’s fellow supporters too.

I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Name
Designation
Address
City
Postcode
Email “

Dear Supporter,

I wrote to you last week about 13 year old school girl Meltem Avcil (pictured left) and her mother Cennet who have been detained at Yarls Wood detention centre for almost three months now.

Well, the immigration authorities have now set a removal date for 07.30 Hrs, Thursday 15 November via a British Airways Flight No. BA0936 from Heathrow Airport Terminal 1, to Dusseldorf, Germany.

The family has lived in the UK for over six years and there are clear human rights grounds for them to remain in the UK under a family amnesty. The only thing that can help them now is if the German authorities decide not to accept Meltem and her mum into Germany[1] and British Airways do not fly them to Dusseldorf this Thursday.

Meltem and her mum therefore need your help immediately – and it will take no more than ONE MINUTE of your time.

TAKE ACTION NOW

1. EMAIL THE GERMAN AUTHORITIES using the model email below to: Mr Eckehard Will, Email: Eckehard.Will@bamf.bund.de . (please copy/amend/write your own version) Please copy your email to robina@paih.org.

2. FAX BRITISH AIRWAYS using the model fax message asking them not to carry out the removal of Meltem and Cennet Avcil from the UK. Fax : British Airways Chief Executive Officer on 0208 738 9801 Fax : British Airways Press Office on 0208 738 9838. (please copy/amend/write your own version, quoting flight Flight No. BA0936 from Heathrow Airport Terminal 1, to Dusseldorf, Germany, at 7.30 HRS on Thursday 15 November 2007)

Thank you for your time and support,

Robina Qureshi

Model Email

FAO Mr Eckhart Will

German Third Country Unit

Germany

Dear Mr Will,

YOUR REF: 2728437: CENNET AVCIL AND MELTEM AVCIL

I am writing to respectfully ask that your Government excuse itself from the responsibility of allowing the United Kingdom Government to remove Mrs Cennet Avcil and her 13-year-old daughter Meltem from the UK to Germany this British airways Thursday 15th November 2007, 7am Terminal 1, , Heathrow to Dusseldorf.

I believe the German government may legally excuse themselves from the restraints of the Dublin convention in regard to this family, whose case has now been picked up by the UK press and media[2]. The Avcil family has exceptional and compassionate grounds for not being returned to Germany:

a) Meltem Avcil is 13 years old and about to turn 14 on November 21st 2007.

b) She has been in school in the UK for SIX years

c) Mrs Avcil and her daughter have NEVER absconded or disobeyed ANY UK immigration rules

d) Both mother and child have been detained like criminals for almost THREE months

e) The UK government has failed in all respects in regard to their duty of care towards this child in that:

i) She has had NO schooling since being incarcerated

ii) She has had poor medical and social support

iii) Her mental and psychological state has deteriorated, from being a normal, healthy bubbly teenager to a scared, depressed, lonely young girl, turning to self harm (She began cutting herself a few days ago)

The facts of Meltem’s case are very similar to that of the AY family (who you will be familiar with), where the German government gave status to the family on humanitarian grounds, after psychiatric reports showed the children had been psychologically traumatised during their incarceration in the United Kingdom.

I believe that the trauma that the UK government has put Melte Avcil through will haunt her for the rest of her life, and that it is in the best interests of this child to be returned to her home in Doncaster, the familiarity of her school, friends and teachers, and to have access within this comfort zone to psychiatrists to assist her in returning to her former happy self.

I am certain that Germany does not and will not keep a child in detention when that child is cutting herself in desperation. I am certain that the German government will recognise that the removal of this family is not in their interest, nor in Germany’s interest.

I strongly believe that the UK government has not considered all the facts of this case and it would be against the family’s human rights to be returned to a country with which they have absolutely no connection. Yet, the UK government appears to be taking the easy option of letting Germany take care of the problems it has clearly created (a lengthy asylum claim, psychological trauma of detention).

I therefore respectfully request that the German government excuse itself from the Dublin convention and allow this young girl to return to her community, friends, her school and most of importantly of all, the only country that she has ever known to be truly her home.

Yours sincerely,

Name:

Address:

City:

Postcode:

Country:

Date:

___________________________________________

Model Fax Message

To: British Airways

Chief Executive Officer: 0208 738 9801

British Airways Press Office on 0208 738 9838

Dear Sir / Madam,

Forced Removal of Cennet Avcil and Meltem Avcil

7.30 HRS on Thursday 15 November 2007

British Airways Flight No. BA0936 from London Heathrow, UK to Dusseldorf, Germany

I urge you to not carry out the forced removal of this family on your airline, whose case has now been picked up by the UK press and is gathering support from Doncaster, Scotland and parts of Europe.

The Avcil family has exceptional and compassionate grounds for not being returned to Germany:

a) Meltem Avcil is 13 years old and about to turn 14 on November 21st 2007.

b) She has been in school in the UK for SIX years

c) Mrs Avcil and her daughter have NEVER absconded or disobeyed ANY UK immigration rules

d) Both mother and child have been detained like criminals for almost THREE months

e) The UK government has failed in all respects in regard to their duty of care towards this child in that:

i) She has had NO schooling since being incarcerated

ii) She has had poor medical and social support

iii) Her mental and psychological state has deteriorated, from being a normal, healthy bubbly teenager to a scared, depressed, lonely young girl, turning to self harm (She began cutting herself a few days ago)

The facts of Meltem’s case are very similar to that of the AY family (who you may be familiar with), where psychiatric reports showed the children had been psychologically traumatised during their incarceration in the United Kingdom.

I believe that the trauma that the UK government has put Meltem Avcil through will haunt her for the rest of her life, and that it is in the best interests of this child to be returned to her home in Doncaster, the familiarity of her school, friends and teachers, and to have access within this comfort zone to psychiatrists to assist her in returning to her former happy self.

I strongly believe that the UK government has not considered all the facts of this case and it would be against the family’s human rights to be returned to a country they have absolutely no connection with.

I therefore urge you to not carry out the forced removal of this family on your airline.

Yours Sincerely,

Name:

Address:

City:

Postcode:

Country:

Date:

Download PDF Alert

“For education, I get maths for 9 year olds, and then jigsaw puzzles, no they don’t give you an education, and even if they did I don’t think u can get educated in there when you know its really a prison.”

Please help 14 year old Doncaster schoolgirl, Meltem Avcil, and her mother to be released from Yarl’s Wood Detention Centre, where they has been held for OVER THREE MONTHS since August 2007.

Meltem and her mum are Kurdish. Meltem speaks with an English accent.
They fled persecution from Turkey to Germany in 2001. They were refused asylum in Germany and sought asylum in the UK. Meltem’s most formative years have been spent here. She fears being deported back to Germany, and then Turkey, a country she says she simply does not know anymore.

In August 2007, 12 immigration officials carried out a dawn raid on the Avcil’s family home in Doncaster. They were then taken to a police station, and driven in a caged van for 2 ½ hours to Yarls wood detention centre.

On Thursday 1 November 2007, Meltem and her mother were refused bail for a FIFTH time. We understand that the judge refused bail because she wanted medical evidence to show that Meltem ‘does not want to stay Yarl’s Wood’. It is unbelievable that a judge would want ‘medical evidence’ to ascertain whether a 14 year old girl - who has committed no crime whatsoever - would want to stay in Yarl’s Wood, especially when that child is stood right in front of you at a bail hearing, and can speak English without an interpreter and is intelligent enough to understand any questions the judge might wish to put to her about whether she wants to stay in Yarls Wood.

We are very concerned about Meltem who has been incarcerated at Yarl’s Wood for more than three months now and no one in authority seems to be concerned about this or the psychological trauma she is suffering as a result. After being refused bail the fourth time, she began to self-harm and cut her arms, something she has never done before. Some of you will remember the Ay family, who were detained at Dungavel immigration centre in Scotland for more than a year. They were granted indefinite leave to live in Germany on humanitarian grounds, after psychiatric reports showed they had been psychologically traumatised during their incarceration at Dungavel.

Speaking tearfully of her experience at Yarls Wood, Meltem said:
“I feel like I’ve committed a crime or something, I feel ashamed. They treat people like animals in here – it’s no different from a jail. I’ve been living I this country for six yrs now and they want to deport me back to a country I don’t even know.

“I saw an officer slapping a little two year old baby because he was playing with lights. And a mother crying for her baby because they wouldn’t take her to healthcare but baby was vomiting and had a high temperature. The officers were being really nasty like they’re just lowering them down saying words to make them sadder.”

Meltem went onto say she missed her school friends, and her teachers, including Mrs Jones (English), Mr Richardson (Science) and Miss Westoby (Drama). She said:
“At school I was good at science, maths, and history, I wanted to become a doctor. My teachers, they were really kind, and really tried to help me. I miss them all so much, just being a schoolchild and doing normal things, with my friends Kirsty, Charlotte and Natalie. .. I want just to get out of here and see my teachers and friends again. I want to stop seeing my mum so sad and crying”.

Currently, there are 50 children being held in Yarls Wood, the oldest is Meltem and the youngest are babies.

Meltem’s school was unaware until two days ago that she was still in the UK, or that she was in Yarl’s Wood. At her school, Hall Cross Lower School, in Doncaster, Meltem was described by her teachers as a “Number 1 student”.

WHY ARE THEY BEING INCARCERATED?

Meltem and her mum were threatened with removal by Home Office officials on at least three previous occasions but have NEVER tried to abscond.

There are very good grounds for the family to remain in the UK.

The Avcil family’s lawyer, Andrew Van As, is also still pursuing a judicial review on their behalf. (Meltem has spent her most formative years in this country, and has been at school here for more than five years, they have settled fully into their local community, and under the Ankara agreement they may have grounds to remain in the UK).

WHAT YOU CAN DO?
Please telephone, write to, email or fax the following individuals asking them to help Meltem Avcil. In all cases, please email home@paih.org copies of your correspondence and we will forward this to the lawyers and Meltem along with any messages of support.

FAX THE DUTY CHIEF IMMIGRATION OFFICER

Ask the Chief Immigration Officer to release Meltem Avcil and her mother from Yarls Wood so that Meltem can pursue her education at Hall Cross Lower School, Doncaster. Send your fax to:

Duty chief immigration officer
Chief Immigration Office
B.I.A. North East Yorkshire & Humberside Enforcement Unit
FAX No: 01709501812

FAX THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR HOME DEPARTMENT

Ask the Secretary of state for the Home Department to allow Meltem Avcil and her mother be released from Yarls Wood and be allowed to pursue their judicial review and Meltem’s education at Hall Cross Lower School, Doncaster.

Fax: 0208 196 3248

WRITE, FAX OR EMAIL THE FAMILY’S MP

Rt Hon Rosie Winterton MP

Ask Rosie Winterton MP to intervene with the Secretary of State for Home Department and ask for Meltem Avcil and her mother be released from Yarls Wood and be allowed to pursue their judicial review and Meltem’s education at Hall Cross Lower School, Doncaster.

Email: wintertonr@parliament.uk

Constituency office:
Room 9
The Trades and Labour Club
115 St Sepulchre Gate West
Doncaster
DN1 3AH
Tel: 01302 326297
Fax: 01302 342921

Parliamentary Office:
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
Tel. 0207 219 0925
Fax: 0207 219 2811

FAX, WRITE OR TELEPHONE THE HEAD TEACHER OF HALL CROSS LOWER SCHOOL, DONCASTER

Ask the head teacher of Hall Cross Lower School to call for the release of Meltem so that she can resume her education in freedom until her asylum claim is settled.

Head teacher
Hall Cross Lower School
St. Michaels Road
Doncaster
South Yorkshire
DN4 5LU
Tel: 01302 535559
Fax: 01302 533960

WRITE TO THE HOME SECRETARY

Ask the Home Secretary to allow Meltem Avcil and her mother be released from Yarls Wood and be allowed to pursue their judicial review and Meltem’s education at Hall Cross Lower School, Doncaster.

Fax: Jacqui Smith, Home Secretary on: 020 7035 4745.

OR write to:
Liam Byrne
Minister for Immigration
Home Office
50 Queen Anne’s Gate
London SW1H 9AT

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