About me: Claude is a French teacher from Cameroon who lives with his family in Sheffield . He and his wife fled Cameroon in 2001 after they spent time in prison for defending human rights (including voicing opposition to the execution of 9 schoolboys). The Western-backed Government of President Biya is a dictatorship and its human rights abuses are well documented. Claude and his wife Majolie both fear for their lives in Cameroon . They have 3 children, born in the UK . 2 of the children have sickle cell anaemia, a blood disorder that needs constant medical attention. According to Sheffield Children’s Hospital “a move to Cameroon would expose the children to new risks of infection. This coupled with relatively limited access to healthcare…is likely to be detrimental to their health.”
The courts have rejected the judicial review submitted whilst Claude's family were in Yarles Wood Removal Centre during the most recent attempt at deportation.
An appeal against this decision is under consideration but:
* if it is submitted, it is very likely to have to be done pro bono(free of charge) by Claude's legal team, as there will not be legal aid available to fund this level of legal action and
* It is felt by the solicitor and barrister acting for the family that the legal process is now close to being exhausted. Whilst further legal action will be considered, prospects for the success of such action are
poor we are told.
It seems that the current state of caselaw is such that the UK Government is able and willing to deport to almost certain death Claude, his wife and children, irrespective of the higher than 50 percent likelihood of the two
children with sickle cell anaemia dying of their conditions. This is easily verifiable from a
variety of sources, and is in fact confirmed by the country advice produced by the Home Office themselves.
Given that, should the family be deported, there is a very very high likelihood of their immediate arrest and subsequent detention in overcrowded, violent and filthy prison conditions, where they would all be in one room with many others, that this statistical prospect of death
from a blood related infection, is greatly increased for the children.
Because of his political activity prior to fleeing the country,Claude himself and his wife are at high risk of being killed once they are detained.
The advice we have at present is that neither legal action on the basis of the human rights of the three children, nor action on the basis of the very real risk of death faced by Claude and his partner due to Claude's previous political activity in support of the C9 campaign, has a
chance of succeeding. So, what can we do?
We have been advised that high profile campaigning, involving lobbying of MPs, including Claude's MP Meg Munn and the Home Secretary Jackie Smith,offers the best prospect now of preventing the deportation of the family.
We understand that the home Office knows or very soon will know that the Judicial Review has been found against the family. We also understand that the Home Office has already expressed the view that it wishes to
expedite this case as quickly as possible. It is by no means certain that the family faces imminent arrest and deportation, but it is certainly a high possibility.
An alternative to the dawn raid-style of snatching the family used last time, is that next time Claude reports to the police station, which he has to do regularly and is due to do very soon, that they simply won't let him go. Instead they might simply go and look for the rest of the family to deport.
Please understand that this is a rapidly changing situation, an arrest could occur at any time.
..
Who I'd like to meet: The people who abuse human rights and put people like Claude and his family in sufficent peril to make them flee their homelands and put themselves at the mercy of our apparantly indifferent state.
I would also like to meet the officers of aforesaid indifferent state to ask them to explain the morality of their actions.
This years festival is headlined by Billy Bragg (Friday), Seth Lakeman (Sunday) and Peatbog Faeries (Saturday) with many more top artists also performing incl the award winning The Demon Barbers.
