Schoolchildren have written to the Home Secretary to beg him to stop the deportation of a Leyland family.
The youngsters, along with religious leaders and churchgoers, have been battling to save Melchior Singo, 39, wife Ethel, 34, daughter Olga, nine, and seven-year-old niece Renee.
Campaigners fear they will be persecuted for being Christians if they are returned to their home country of Malawi.
The family were taken from their Argyle Road home by immigration officials and have been kept at a succession of detention centres across the country – often apart.
Mrs Singo and the children were finally allowed to return to Leyland last week, but her husband remains locked up while the family's request to stay in the UK is dealt with.
In a desperate bid to reverse the decision, Leyland schoolchildren have started a petition and have even written heartfelt pleas to new Home Secretary Alan Johnson.
Mrs Singo, her husband and their daughter came to the UK on legitimate visitor visas in 2003. She exchanged it for a student visa while she was at college in London.Their niece joined them in 2006 and Mr Singo applied for asylum in 2008.
His wife said: "We've always been very open. We both got jobs and then the first time we knew something was wrong was when the authorities knocked on our door in May."
The family say they left Malawi because they feared for their safety.
The two children attend Leyland St Mary's Primary School and their classmates have joined pupils at Leyland St Mary's Catholic Technology College to launch a petition appealing for them to stay.
Head of RE at the college, Brendan Gardner, said: "The family are part of the parish and this is a show of solidarity against Christians getting persecuted in Malawi."
Meanwhile, there are 161 members signed up to the 'Bring the Singo family home' group on the social networking site Facebook.
Mrs Singo and the children were released from Tinsley House detention centre, near Gatwick Airport, on July 2, but her husband remains in the centre after a court rejected an application to be released.
She said: "I have found the people here very welcoming. As a family we just want to try to get on with our lives in Leyland."
The family's fate will be decided at a judicial review in the high courts in Manchester on August 13.
A UK Border Agency spokesman said: "We will always endeavour to keep families together but there will inevitably be occasions where this is not possible."
Thursday, 9 July 2009
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2 comments:
I wish to point out the error in the article about. The Singo family. The comment about christian persecution was made by an ill-informed member of the parish at Leyland. The Singos made no comments about Malawi to the press. Unfortunately the British local papers try to sensationalise things.
Firstly Mr Singo is a big Lier to his parish and community. He had a business and very rich inlaws in Malawi. Secondly nobody wants to prosecute him in Malawi. Thirdly the niece that lives with them has a well off mother and a little sister at home who she has been separated from her for years. Fr Cotton you are being conned all of you at the parish.
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