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Stop the deportation of Elizabeth (UK folks look here)

Disco is My Class War

11:23 / 31.05.06

Hey, people in the UK might find this of interest. A lesbian is due to be deported from the UK to her country of birth, Uganda, on Friday. According to the website advocating for her case, she fled Uganda in 2004 after having been locked up for five months in a "Safe House," during which time she was allegedly raped, whipped, beaten and so on. It's likely that she would be detained again whe she returns to Uganda. Her partner, also from Uganda, disappeared in 2004 -- it's probable that she too is either being detained or has been 'silenced'.

In a stunning move by the UK asylum seeker tribunal, this woman's claims for asylum have been rejected, as have her appeals. They were rejected on the grounds that a) although the Ugandan government discriminates against 'homosexuals', lesbians are not homosexuals; and b) that since she had a child when she was young, she can't be a lesbian. Elizabeth is mentally ill, suicidal, has PTSD and is in no state to travel.

She's scheduled to be deported back to Uganda on a KLM flight on Friday 2nd June. There's a campaign happening to stop the deportation, more info about which here. On the website you can also find copies of letters to fax/email to the Home Office and to KLM

I'm checking out the flight times, and it looks like KLM has a flight to Uganda via Amsterdam flying out from Gatwick on Friday at 7.40am. Her support website doesn't suggest this, but I am: If you're an early riser or have a day off on Friday, please consider taking some friends to Gatwick Airport and making some noise around the gate lounge as the flight departs. If one person on the flight refused to sit down before take off, the flight would be grounded. Often people are not overjoyed to be on flights that handle deportations, and it sounds like this woman should definitely not be on any plane, let alone one taking her back to torture and possible death. So even one person, having quiet conversations with those about to board the flight, might make a difference.

If I was there, instead of Australia (where they're much more sneaky about deportations, and it's impossible to find out flight details in advance) that's what I'd be doing. I'm against deportations of asylum seekers anyhow, but this just too fucking much.

*

18:00 / 31.05.06

Oh, fucking hell. Topping this thread on the grounds that it's more important than arguing about whether women's lacrosse has previously been innocent of symbols of sexual violence.

Disco is My Class War

05:17 / 01.06.06

I'm gonna keep bumping this until after Friday. Although it's already Friday here.

Disco is My Class War

05:22 / 01.06.06

Actually, I just looked at London Indymedia to get an update and this story is not even featured. That's kinda surprising.

11:20 / 01.06.06

I've sent over copies of the letters. I'd urge anybody reading to do the same. It'll take 5 minutes of your time and might really make a difference.

11:28 / 01.06.06

I too have done so. I'm suprised that we have heard nothing about this anywhere. Perhaps we should send an email about it to the BBC or something?

Aren't there a few people here who work at the beeb?

11:45 / 01.06.06

Sent.

12:00 / 01.06.06

Gatwick, 7:40am, hmm...

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

12:26 / 01.06.06

Yeah, that took a couple of minutes. Worth noting that the letter to Liam Byrne begins "Dear Mr Bryne", so it may be worth editing that part for the sake of politeness.

12:50 / 01.06.06

I'm suprised that we have heard nothing about this anywhere.

I did read in the paper the other day about an asylum seeker who'd claimed asylum on grounds of her sexuality, and later got hitched to a man and had kids. The paper was spinning it that therefore she's not a "real lesiban" therefore the ground for her initial asylum were false. I can't remember the details though - not sure if it's related to this case. Actually IIRC the fact that had made the judge rule in her favour was that she'd started a family - so defintely not this case.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

13:00 / 01.06.06

May as well keep bumping this.

Incidentally, though it's obviously worth doing, what with it costing nothing but about 120 seconds of your time, is their any precedent for people actually taking any notice of these email campaigns? Not trying to be cynical- I honestly have no idea one way or the other. Either way, it costs fuck all and it can't hurt. Let's keep bumping.

16:02 / 01.06.06

Sent, from uni address, with academic title & added hissy fit about how the government that represents me should KNOW better than to make decisions like that re: the non-homosexuality of lesbian mothers. Thought it would go down better than my usual email (fangirl at obscureBlakes7domainname dot com). I confess I'm not going to Gatwick tomorrow though.

All Acting Regiment

16:56 / 01.06.06

I added my uni adress too. The sheer volume should make them change their minds. Can we get anything into the papers? Someone mentioned the BBC?

17:03 / 01.06.06

Are there not any high-profile news blogs based in the UK? Talking Points Memo or Daily Kos equivalents?

13:45 / 02.06.06

folks like londonist occasionally dabble in the news thing, and they are read by a good whack of folks who coulda made it down to the airport.
i wish i'd thought of that yesterday.

anyone have any idea what the current state of play is with this? i have mentioned it to some news-gatherer mates, but i still havent seen much on high prifile news.

searching for it on the beeb is pretty disheartening.

14:08 / 02.06.06

Is harry's place a reasonable equivilent to TPM and the Daily Kos?

Less searchable M0rd4nt

15:19 / 02.06.06

Do we know any more about this? The site says that Liam Byrne's office refused to delay the deportation, but it's still just possible that enough of a protest was made to get her taken off the flight by air staff.

Regrettable Juvenilia

15:35 / 02.06.06

[Off-topic, but sleaze: no.]

*

15:47 / 06.06.06

Posted by a livejournaler:
Apparently they attempted the deportation, but the airline stewards asked for her to be removed from the flight. This from an email I just received from the NCADC:

Beth Aze, co-ordinator of the Elizabeth Must Stay Campaign visited Elizabeth in Yarl's Wood on Sunday. Beth reports on how Elizabeth describes the attempted deportation on Friday :

"She was put on the plane, after a torrent of verbal threats on the way to the airport. Once she was on the plane, she was still cuffed with her hands behind her back, and her head forced forward in the seat. She complained but they refused to remove them, so she tried to wriggle into a more comfortable position. As she did this one of her hands came out of the cuffs. The male Officer became very angry and grabbed her hands to put a second pair of cuffs on her. Elizabeth was in two pairs of very tight hand cuffs and the airline stewards asked for her to be removed from the flight.

When I saw her in Yarl's Wood she showed me bruises and swelling on both arms, and a large swollen bruise on her right leg. She was also still experiencing limited movement in both her thumbs, one of which was causing her pain, the other of which had no sensation. When I hugged on first arriving she flinched and told me not to hold her so hard, which leads me to believe there are other bruises she couldn't easily show me on her back and/or shoulders."

Disco is My Class War

16:48 / 06.06.06

Fucking assholes.

All Acting Regiment

22:34 / 06.06.06

No-one treats vulnerable people like that while I'm around.

So she's back at Yarl's wood? She's still in the country? Well, that's bloody good news but it doesn't detract from the fact that she's obviously been beaten. This needs to be sorted out.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

13:45 / 08.06.06

That's a fucking disgusting way to treat a human being. She isn't even accused of any crime, ffs, she was just a frightened woman being deported to her death and reacting accordingly. Vicious little shits.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

14:31 / 08.06.06

God. Even if I agreed with the deportation (which I obviously don't) that's a really fucking horrible way to treat anyone. Even if she HAD been a criminal.

Absolutely fucking disgusting.

00:43 / 17.06.06

any updates on this? i am in the states, and this is the first i have read of it...

01:31 / 17.06.06

From the site...

Elizabeth was returned to Entebbe last night.

Our love and thanks go to everyone who has given their time to try and make a difference for Elizabeth. We are all so desperately sorry that she has gone.

We remain, too, furious at the inhumane treatment that was meted out to her by the Immigration Service. They were given ample opportunity to do the right thing. Instead, they've proven themselves to be consistent in their cruelty.

We cannot allow our asylum proces to continue in this way. It shames us all.

Fucking disgusting. We still have addresses so more emails of anger are still in order asking for explainations...