Hands off Somalia (HOS) are a London-based campaign against the British imperialist intervention in Somalia. They will be sending a speaker to address this issue at the 'Against Racism' public meeting and the linked issues of the oppression suffered by Somali refugees in Britain. Check out the events page for more details.
First published on http://handsoffsomalia.co.uk/
Said Kasim Mohamed – urgent action needed!
Thanks to NCADC for this publicity
http://ncadc.org.uk/campaigns/saidkasim/
Said Kasim Mohammed, a Somali national, came
to the UK after suffering systematic persecution due to his ethnicity.
He escaped from Somalia to Europe after an attempt to force him into
slavery. Denied protection, he has been made repeatedly destitute in the
UK. Despite his ill health he is now in detention and has removal
directions for 29 January to Tanzania. Said is not from Tanzania and has
no connections there. Although he does not feel Somalia is safe for him
as he could be once again forced into hard labour, his experience of
destitution and detention in the UK has made him desperate and he is
simply asking that he is not deported to Tanzania.
Minority clan persecution in Somalia
Part of the Bajuni tribe, a minority group in Somalia, Said has suffered
abuse and a denial of his basic rights. After the homes in his street
were completely burnt by members of the majority clans, he narrowly
escaped capture and the prospect of forced slavery. Throughout the
Bajuni Island and the coastal areas many members of the Bajuni tribe
have been forced to leave their homes. Young Bajuni men have been forced
into slavery, the men often beaten, the women raped and their property
looted.
The Home Office Operational Guidance Notes on
Somalia states that minority groups ‘often lacking armed militias,
continued to be disproportionately subject to killings, torture, rape,
kidnapping for ransom, and looting of land and property with impunity by
faction militias…..Bajuni clan residents are liable to suffer
persecution at the hands of the majority clans’.
Minority Rights Group’s report, No Redress: Somalia’s Forgotten Minorities,
documents how ‘Somali minorities collectively- and minority members
individually- suffer denial and abuse of the whole range of basic human
rights set out in international and regional conventions……the struggle
for minority rights in Somalia takes place in a context where the abuse
of human rights in general has persisted for decades, from widespread
torture [to] political oppression’.
Detention and destitution in the UK
After claiming asylum in the UK, Said was detained and attempts were
made to remove him to Luxembourg under the Dublin convention. After
spending two months in detention Said was released after the Home Office
stated that it would not be possible to send him there. His case was
heard in the UK but his claim was refused. Soon after this he was
evicted from his accommodation. He had no food, no roof over his head,
no access to healthcare, and no money for travel – Said was made
destitute.
Said Kasim in now being held in detention, his health
is deteriorating. Unable to breath properly in the cells, Said’s doctor
has written to the Home Office stating that he ‘desperately needs fresh
air and should be released’. The Home Office has refused.
During one of seven attempts to remove Said Kasim, Said was assaulted by Home Office contracted escorts.
Despite having no passport or travel documents the Home Office was still attempting to deport me, this is illegal. The immigration guards came for me at around 7.30pm on the 30th September; they handcuffed me and put me in leg chains. They put me in the van where five officers manhandled me, pressing down on my chest. My hands and arms have swollen up because the handcuffs were so tight and I was being pulled by them. They put me on an airplane as part of a commercial flight….. I started shouting. The five immigration police tried to hide the handcuffs so the passengers could not see I was a prisoner. The passengers complained, took photos and recordings, and said that it was unsafe to fly me and looked like they were trying to kill me. The passengers went to talk to the pilot who remained hidden throughout this. ~Said
The Home Office have now informed Said that they are
going to remove him to Tanzania, a country with which he has no
connection. Detainees in Morton Hall say that UKBA officials have been
issuing travel documents to Somalia, allegedly from the Tanzanian High
Commission, in order to deport Somalis to Tanzania. The determination of
nationality within the asylum system is deeply flawed. Despite repeated
criticism, unreliable language testing is accepted by UKBA and the
courts as ‘proof’ of someone’s nationality. Equating language with
nationality is highly problematic, particularly when the methods of
identifying a ‘mother tongue’ are so questionable. You can read more
about the legal context to this debate here.
Said Kasim has successfully challenged seven forced
removal attempts. Despite his failing health he still remains in
detention. He has now been given a new ticket for removal on the 29th
January again to Tanzania and needs your support.
Take action
Contact Qatar Airlines and ask them not to carry Said Kasim Mohammed against his will. Read our guide to airline campaigning here.
Facebook
The flight details are QR76 (to Dar Es Salaam via Doha) at 15:05 on 29 January 2013.Twitter
You can write to, fax or email using your own words, or the example letter here.
Qatar Airways
3rd Floor, Victoria Buildings, Albert Square
1-7 Princess Street, Manchester, M2 4DF
telephone: 0844 846 8380 or 020 7341 6031
fax: 0161 838 5398
email: tell-us@qatarairways.com and loncustomerrelations@uk.qatarairways.com
If you want to send a public message about their airline being used to remove someone against his will to a country he’s not even from, you can use:
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