Dear Supporters
Thank you for your collective efforts over the past 6 days.
Over 17000 of you signed our petition and many of you also took up our daily suggested actions too.
The deportation flight took off at 10.30pm tonight from Stansted Airport and was operated by the airline HiFly.
We started campaigning for 150 people. Only 14 were deported in the end.
This is and a great result and means the majority were not taken. But of course 14 is not just a number, this is 14 real people , torn apart from loves ones, including partners, parents and children. Our thoughts are with the 14, for their safety and for their families.
Some of those removed from the flight were due to covid related concerns with positive covid cases in two detention centres and some because of the risk to them if they were deported. All issues we highlighted from the start.
Through the collective actions of the organisations campaigning, lawyers and all of you we were able to make an impact.
In these updates I have referred to and included links to the plight of Christopher a 26 year old aspiring professional footballer who came to the UK aged 7, his family were forced to flee Zimbabwefor their own safety.. When I first spoke to him he had no legal representation, having been let down and I was able to get him representation at short notice, provided by Justitia Chambers, leading to him being taken off the flight, for which we are grateful. Christopher's is just one story but there are many more.
Here are some links to news coverage and some actions in Parliament.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/family-devastated-dad-set-deportation-24581652
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2021-07-20a.124.6
https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/58796
We would like to thank all the
additional supporting organisations and individuals:
Diane Abbott MP
Zarah Sultana MP
Lord Peter Hain
Mark Serwotka, General Secretary PCS
WAST
REFUGEE ACTION
RAPAR
GMIAU
STATUS NOW FOR ALL
FIRST WEDNESDAY
LISG
MCR NO BORDERS
SOCIAL ACTION UNITE
Fresh Grassroots Rainbow community
ZAPU (Zimbabwe African People's Union(
MDC-A (Movement for Democratic Change Alliance)
ACTSA
Artists' Union England
Black and Asian Lawyers for Justice
Cardiff Peoples Assembly
Racial Justice Network
Migrant Voice
Channel Rescue
Voices4 London
Migrants in Culture
New Queers on the Block
performingborders
SOAS Detainee Support
We need your continued support going forward as there are several more charter flight deportations planned by the UK government over the next couple of months, including to Jamaica, Vietnam, Nigeria/Ghana and Pakistan.
If you or someone you know is at risk, please get legal advice asap. Our organisations can support you to connect with lawyers, to help you.
To keep up to date with our campaigning and action, please sign our BARAC petition here:
On behalf of our 9 organisations:
Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Human Rights Organization (ZHRO)
Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants (LGSMigrants)
Right To Remain
Voice for Voiceless Immigration Detainees Yorkshire
BARAC UK
Actors For Human Rights
Bail for Immigration Detainees
Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants
Thank you so much.
Kind Regards
Zita
Zita Holbourne FRSA
National Chair BARAC UK