Maleho Family belong to Plymouth

NCADC

Nelly Maleho from the DR Congo and her three children, twins Eddy and Merveille aged 10 and Ali aged 6, were snatched from their Plymouth home on Friday 12th May, and taken to Yarl's Wood IRC for removal the following day.

Nelly and the kids arrived in Plymouth from the DR Congo in November 2003 and have established a life for themselves with an extensive support network in the area.

The chairman of All Nations Ministries, a community group that exists to integrate asylum seekers and refugees into the community in Plymouth and give support where needed, had been helping Nelly who is an integral part of this community and leads the worship choir of the church.

Members of the church and local community started frantic efforts to try and help prevent the deportation of Nelly and the children. They contacted Nelly's MP who contacted the Immigration Minister and got the removal stayed pending representations.

 

However, the MP's and solicitor's further efforts have failed to dissuade the Minister from revoking the deportation and a new date has been set for May the 18th.

Nelly's ethnicity is Rwandan/Tutsi and the Home Office does not dispute this, yet it is Home Office guidance at the moment that Rwandan/Tutsi's should not be returned to DR Congo.

The Home Office thinks it's safe for the family to return to DR Congo. This flies in the face of reality; half a million people have been internally displaced in DR Congo in the first four months of this year alone. The media have in the last four weeks portrayed horror story after horror story of events that take place daily and elections due to take place in June have been postponed.

War is over, so now the Congo army attacks its own people In the Telegraph

There was a debate in parliament on 19/4/06: Democratic Republic of Congo

"Sexual violence is not confined to eastern DRC, but there it remains a potent tool of subjugation. Women are routinely raped, tortured and murdered as a crude means of dominating communities and eking out a feral existence in the forest. The fear inspired by the militias frequently leads to families to reject abused women. Such women can be seen as a burden due to their injuries, which are often extreme, and sometimes they are a source of shame for their partners, who often rapidly become former partners." Westminster Hall Debates for 19 April 2006

The Home Office have been deaf to all the compelling evidence that DR Congo is not safe.

The community are determined that they will fight to make the Home Office change its mind.

 

What you can do to help:

All Nations Ministries have set up a campaign to keep Nelly and the children in the UK. They are asking you to fax the attached model letter, (copy/amend/write your own version) and fax it to the Minister for Immigration Tony McNulty asking him to relent on his decision to remove the family.

Fax: 020 7219 2417 from outside the UK + 44 20 7219 2417

Tony McNulty
Minister for Immigration
3rd Floor
Peel Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF


Please notify the campaign of any faxes sent: Osee Ntavuka  

 

 

May 2006

> > home page > >