Dear Friends and Supporters,
Over the past few weeks friends and supporters from across Manchester have been writing letters of support and petitions for Dianne Ngoza. Yesterday morning dozens of friends went with Dianne to Dallas court as she signed on. She was detained and many people stood in the pouring rain to block the road to stop the unmarked van leaving. Tragically, after many hours, Dianne was taken to Yarlswood Detention Centre.
Dianne’s letter from Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre, Bedfordshire:
“Please keep on supporting me and tell the world about what is going on.
Fight for everyone please.
People are being wrongly detained, even when they have a right to stay in England.
I care so much for everyone
I’m so thankful and I’ve been immensely touched by everyone’s support, it’s something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life” |
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Dianne’s campaign and how to help
Many thanks to everyone for your continued support of Dianne Ngoza, a Zambian nurse who has lived in the UK for 14 years. Dianne was detained when she went to report at Dallas Court on Wednesday, 16th November, and the Home Office plan to deport her.
Dianne has not lived in Zambia for more than 20 years and has no family or contacts there. Her daughter and all her friends are in the UK and this is her home.
Dianne has been destitute for six years due to a series of errors by immigration solicitors. She made a new application for leave to remain in the UK four months ago but, at the beginning of November, this was rejected by the Home Office.
She was told she would be deported and that, although she had the right to appeal against the Home Office’s decision to refuse her application, she would have to appeal from Zambia.
We are asking the Home Office:
- WHY they have not released her from detention in Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre, Bedfordshire?
Dianne submitted fresh evidence in her case to the Home Office before she was detained and they are legally obliged to consider that
- WHY she is not being allowed to appeal against the Home Office decision from within the UK?
New legislation will make in country appeals much more difficult from December 1st but that legislation is not currently in force
- WHY her supporters at Dallas Court on Wednesday were told Dianne would be taken to Pennine House, the short term detention centre at Manchester Airport?
She was taken to Yarl’s Wood in Bedfordshire instead
DIGNITY FOR DIANNE
As media coverage has shown and pending court cases against Yarl’s Wood officers demonstrate, Yarl’s Wood is no place for Dianne – or any other woman – to be.
When Dianne’s supporters stopped the van from taking her to a detention centre on Wednesday, the duty deputy manager at Dallas Court said it was “not fair” to keep her there because she only had a chair to sit on and had not eaten for nearly seven hours since her arrival at the reporting centre that morning.
He said Dianne needed a bed and a meal. This might have been possible if she had been taken the short distance to Pennine House at Manchester Airport. Instead she was forced to make a three hour journey to Yarl’s Wood where she had to sit on another chair in a waiting room until well after midnight when she was given a bed. The only food she received consisted of two apples.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Email of sent a letter to your MPs
Dianne is a constituent of Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell.
If you are one of Lucy’s constituents, please write to her using the model letter attached here .
You can send the letter by:
- If you are not a constituent of Lucy Powell’s, you can still write to your own MP using a different model letter attached here . Use www . writetothem . com or find their contact details through their websites
- Most MPs are on Twitter so you can tweet them as well.
- COME TO THE CAMPAIGN STALL IN PICCADILLY GARDENS, MANCHESTER, ON SATURDAY AT 2.30pm. THERE WILL BE CAMPAIGN MATERIAL FOR YOU TO TAKE AWAY AS WELL AS MUSIC AND SOUP
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE – DIGNITY FOR DIANNE! |
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Good news too: On Sunday 16th October, MCoS supporters Matt and Rena Jackson from Fallowfield, successfully ran the Manchester half-marathon to raise money for Manchester City of Sanctuary. Therir website is still open. Please encourage them with your donations!
We are hoping to fund a wonderful Twixmas Event after Christmas and future Conversation Clubs for our Sanctuary Seekers in 2017. Click on https://mydonate . bt . com/fundraisers/matthewjackson2
We can donate until 16th November 2016 so, please share with your supportive friends and neighbours.
Our next Conversation Club is on Thursday 17th November 6-8pm at Cross Street Chapel, M2 1LN.
FoodCycle will be providing us with a wonderful meal. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet people who are seeking safety from war and persecution in a warm and friendly envoironment. Your offer of friendship and solidarity means so much.
The Community Meal on Sunday 27th November we will be as usual at TCRC, 11 Richmond Grove, M13 0LN, behind Longsight Police Station.
You’ll be glad to know that 4 very capable, lovely people have applied and been accepted to be new Trustees.
Andrea Jackson, David Wilkin, Eve Holt and Bradley Russell will bring all their experience and questions, their skill and passion to our new Board. We have also interviewed 4 sanctuary seekers to join us as advisers: Barly Koyangbwa, Mohsen Soltani, Shamime Afsan and Zeeshan Saeed.
Warm greetings from Jane, Charles, Jeff, Zhila, Maryam and David.
