Living Zimbabwe

Tag: Deportation

  • Time For Zimbabweans in the UK To Head Home Or Be Deported

    Time For Zimbabweans in the UK To Head Home Or Be Deported

    The UK Border Agency recently released a statement stating that they were going to resume enforced returns of failed asylum seekers. The deportation of Zimbabwean nationals was suspended in 2006 but for some reason the UKBA now feels that it is safe for failed asylum seekers to return home. Understandably so, there are thousands of Zimbabweans in the UK who are not happy with the decision and are in a state of worry.

    One force that may have aided in the UKBA making such a decision may have been Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai’s 2009 plea to Zimbabweans in the UK to return home. That statement put people in a precarious position and they did not take too kindly to that and he was heckled and booed with the response being Mugabe should go before that happens. Another reason may be the formation of Unity Government which the Brits must see as working well for them to come up with such a decision. Of late, it has become more apparent that the GPA is not working as hoped and that Mugabe and Zanu PF are still running the show.

    The resumption of deportations was bound to reach this point because the UK does not want foreigners in their land. New Immigration laws are constantly being put in place and some see these actions as a way of reducing migrant numbers and getting more Brits to work. Other see them as hidden racist tendencies aimed at reducing the number of migrants. You may disagree with that statement and say racism is restricted to a small portion of the population but that is not the case.  A lot of people would rather not have foreign nationals in their country but are not vocal about it. What more for foreigners who come from a nation whose president openly criticises the West and doesn’t bow to their pressure?

    If the UK can find the slightest excuse to get people out of their country without breaking any human rights acts they will take them. This seems to be what is happening and now many Zimbabweans may be faced with the decision of either returning home voluntarily or taking their chances and maybe be deported at one point or another.

  • The Plight Of A Zimbabwean Asylum Seeker

    A Zimbabwean superstar in the making Gamu Nhengu has been causing quite a stir in the UK with her X factor performances. Unfortunately it all came to an end at the weekend and this left a number of fans very unhappy. Now news is going around that her and her family are facing deportation due to a failed visa application.

    Her being in that situation got me thinking about the hundreds if not thousands of Zimbabweans who are waiting on asylum applications (even though her and her family are not asylum seekers). Some have been lucky enough to get their application approved quickly. There are others who years down the line are still waiting on the Home Office to make a decision on their claims. Whist they wait they are in a situation where they are neither here nor there.

    Being a migrant in itself is enough to take a significant emotional toll on a person. Can you image what it would be like with the added stress of waiting on an asylum claim? For months and months applicants are in a situation where all they can do is sit and wait for someone to make their mind up. Whilst all of that is in progress, they cannot work which means they have to live off whatever assistance they are receiving from the government. For others that also means less or no monetary assistance for family they may be supporting back home. They also obviously cannot travel to Zimbabwe or anywhere else for that matter which can make it tough if a situation arises where their presence would have been expected.

    Some people have simply put in claims so that they can legally stay on in the UK and work. They may not have necessarily been persecuted in Zimbabwe and have become illegal with asylum being the option they can think of to become legal.

    If all else fails for asylum seekers, The International Organisation for Migration runs a Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme (VARRP) to assist asylum seekers who want to return to their country. Who knows how well this programme works? It may just be a way of enticing migrants to leave the country so that the Brits don’t have to worry about them; in other word’s, “here, have some money now get out of our country!”

    This is just a bit of what some asylum seekers have to go through. If an application is successful, refugees are allowed to travel wherever they like except to their country of origin. But, that restriction doesn’t stop some brave souls from making their way home. It makes you wonder if it is really worth it going through all of that just so that you can stay in the United Kingdom?