Monday 17th October 2005, 7pm
Committee Room 11, House of Commons,
St Stephens
Entrance
Flores Sukula, a student at Bolton 6th form college,
is to address a parliamentary meeting organised by the National Assembly
Against Racism and Asylum Rights
Campaign on Monday. The Sukula family are now facing deportation and have
been subjected to new laws which withdraw all state benefits and housing
from families of ‘failed’ asylum seekers and threatens to split
families, taking the children into care and leaving the adults homeless and
destitute. The power has been contested by a number of organisations including
the British Association of Social Workers, human rights organisation Liberty,
Unison and the Children’s Commissioner. Local campaigning has kept
the Sukulas and some other families in their houses but they have been living
for over seven weeks on donations including £25 a week for a family
of eight. At least two families in the North-West have been evicted under
this power.
The Parliamentary meeting to brief MPs on the forthcoming bill
will be addressed by a number of prominent campaigning groups, over concerns
that the forthcoming
legislation and new regulations on asylum and immigration are further eroding
asylum and immigration rights.
Flores Sukula said: “If we go back our lives will be over...We’ve
settled in Bolton. Two of my brothers and one sister are in full time education
and the local community have really supported us. We’ve had over 2000
signatures to our petition to be allowed to stay. Our lives are very difficult.
We’re all very stressed. My Mum’s depressed, always crying. My
six year old brother keeps having nightmares. We’ve young children
who aren’t even getting a proper diet.”
The full line up of speakers
is:
Neil Gerrard MP (Chair)
Diana Warwick, Chief Executive, Universities UK
Tim Finch, Director of Communications,
Refugee Council
Alex Gask, Legal Officer,
Liberty
Wilf Sullivan, Race Equality Officer, Trades
Union Council
Flores Sukula,
Sukula family campaign affected by Section 9 of the 2004 Act
Will Somerville, CRE Senior Policy Officer