South Wales Evening Post
August 9, 2007 Thursday
Dawn raid ordeal for deportation row family
emma judd
A Swansea family have been taken from their home during an early
morning immigration raid.
The mother, daughter and son were taken from their Port Tennant house
to Cockett Police Station to await deportation to Azerbaijan, their
home country.
They have escaped from the country twice after being subjected to
abuse and violent assault because they are Armenian – a persecuted
racial minority in Azerbaijan.
The family say they do not want to be identified because they have
been left too distressed by the raid.
However, their 15-year-old daughter has agreed to speak to the
Evening Post about their ordeal.
She said: "We were all really scared. They had a key and let
themselves in, then told us to pack all our belongings.
"They told us they had booked a flight for us on Saturday, and they
would be taking us to a detention centre in Bedford until then."
In a twist, the Home Office immigration officials had to take the
family home again after it emerged they have an immigration appeal
lodged to be able to stay in Swansea.
But if the appeal fails, the family could be subjected to the same
ordeal once more.
"We’re scared this could happen again," said the daughter, who is
studying for her GCSEs at a Swansea school.
Keith Ross, a case worker with the Asylum Justice organisation, said
the officials took a doctor with them to attend to the mother, who is
now receiving psychiatric treatment.
He said: "The doctor gave her diazepam, and quite a lot of it. He
wouldn’t let her use her own medication at all. She had a panic
attack in the car on the way to the police station because of it.
"We will now see what happens with the appeal. The family have told
me they have got fresh evidence, which means we might put in a fresh
application for asylum based on that evidence.
"The last time they were in Azerbaijan the mother was assaulted in
front of her children and had to spend five days in hospital because
of it."
In June, the Evening Post reported how the Masih family, also of Port
Tennant, were almost deported to Pakistan because the Home Office did
not believe they were Roman Catholic rather than Muslim.
Officials raided their home and sent them to a remote detention
centre. They were given an 11th-hour reprieve after members of St
Illtyd’s Roman Catholic Church pleaded for their release.
A Border and Immigration Agency spokesman said: "We cannot comment on
individual cases. The Government has made it clear that it will take
a robust approach to removing people where they have no legal right
to be here.
"While it is preferable for those with no right to remain in the
United Kingdom to return home voluntarily, it is regrettable that not
all choose to do so, and in those circumstances it may be necessary
to enforce removal. We would not seek to remove someone where there
are any outstanding barriers to removal.
"Detention is an essential element in the effective enforcement of
immigration control, in particular in support of our removals
strategy."