Louise Nousratpour
Thursday October 4, 2007
The Morning Star
DARFUR survivors marched on Parliament on Thursday demanding that the government stops sending them back to torture and persecution in Sudan.
Angry protesters, dressed in T-shirts emblazed with "Rejected Darfur Survivor," chanted slogans like "Sudan Kills Blacks, Don't Send Us Back" and "No Deportation."
They accused ministers of "colluding" with the "genocidal and criminal" government of Sudan through their asylum policy.
The rally, organised by human rights group Aegis Trust, coincided with a Home Office appeal in the House of Lords against a legal victory for Darfuri asylum seekers earlier this year.
If the government wins this test case, hundreds of Darfuris could be sent back to Sudan's capital Khartoum.
Ministers have now promised to review policy guidance on Darfuri asylum claims in the light of Aegis's report detailing evidence of "shocking torture" of Darfuris who were deported from Britain to Khartoum.
Aegis Trust speaker David Brown dismissed this as "not good enough" and demanded an "immediate moratorium on the deportation of all Darfuri asylum seekers while there is war in Sudan."
Darfur Union president Khatir Mohammed told the rally: "There are only 300 Darfuri refugees in the UK. They are in detention centres or on the streets and their lives are in limbo.
"If Chad, one of the poorest countries in the world, can take in 300,000 Darfuri survivors why cannot Britain, one of the richest, take in just 300 until there is peace in Darfur?"
Ibrahim Haroun, who fled Darfur in 2004, said that he had been left homeless and destitute after his asylum claim was rejected last year. "I have to rely on friends and charity hand outs to survive," he added.
Mr Haroun, who has worked as a volunteer for the Red Cross in Leicester, said that over 90 per cent of all asylum claims in Britain were rejected.
"This figure is even higher among Darfuri asylum-seekers," he warned.
Sadiq Abakar, who has been waiting nine years for Britain to give him asylum, rejected government claims that it is "safe" to relocate Darfuris in other parts of Sudan. "Do they think we are stupid?" he asked.
Refugee Council chief executive Maeve Sherlock condemned the Home Office for "wasting taxpayers' money as its lawyers scuttle off to court to argue for the deportation of vulnerable Darfuris.
"This shows the hypocrisy of this government as Brown demands international action to stop the genocide, while sending refugees back to face torture and possible death."
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