GadgetVicar

Fair Trade Breakfast

If you are in Glasgow tomorrow (Saturday, 13th March), why not join us at St Silas' from 10am onwards for a Fair Trade breakfast?

Immigration

My dear friend, Tom Harris MP, has posted today on asylum policy in general.

I heard a Conservative Party representative on Radio 4's PM programme saying that the Tories should aim to reduce immigration if they come to power. One can only imagine what they'll do with asylum seekers.

The strange thing to me is that most of the population of the UK is to some extent descended from economic migrants or those fleeing oppressive regimes. Celts, Picts, Romans, Jutes, Angles, Saxons, Vikings, Normans, Africans (throught the slave trade), Indians (during the colonial period), and all sorts of Europeans during the 19th Century, have all come to live on these islands. Some came to conquer, some were forced, but all have made their home here and contributed to this island's life. What's different today? I guess it can only be the fear that immigrants arriving here will simply leech from our social security system, married to xenophobia and a sense for politicians that going soft on immigration is a vote loser.

Why do Christians take such an interest in this? Is it because they are naive and believe every sob story? Sometimes we are (and naivete is not always a bad thing), but I hope we are driven by something like this: 

For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed. He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing. So you, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. Deuteronomy 10:19 (NLT)

Now, I wonder who would like to win my vote in a few months time?

Urgent Action Today - The Red Road Flats Tragedy

Forward of a Positive Action in Housing email:

PLEASE ATTEND IN SUPPORT OF THE RED ROAD RESIDENTS AT BRAND STREET REPORTING CENTRE 11 AM TUESDAY 9 MARCH 2010

DEMAND A PUBLIC ENQUIRY INTO THE RED ROAD SUICIDES
QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED IN SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT AT FIRST MINISTERS QUESTIONS ON THURSDAY 11 MARCH 2010
ASK QUESTIONS OF YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES ABOUT THE WAY THE CURRENT UK ASYLUM SYSTEM OPERATES AND DEMAND AN OVERHAUL TO THEIR BARBARIC PRACTICES
(please copy your emails or correspondece to home@paih.org )

Residents of Red Road have asked for help with a demonstration outside the UK Borders Agency, (Home Office) at Festival Court , 200 Brand Street , Govan, Glasgow (next to Cessnock underground and off Paisley Road West , Glasgow ) on Tuesday 9th March in memory of the family who committed suicide on Sunday morning from one of the tower blocks in Red Road .

The bodies of the family, a couple and their son, were found at the bottom of a 31-storey block at 63 Petershill Drive , Springburn, Glasgow, on Sunday morning. We understand they were asylum-seekers who had received a negative decision from the UK Borders Agency (UKBA).

According to the Unity Centre in Govan, Strathclyde police visited the family's flat on the 15th floor last Friday to tell them their asylum case had been refused and they would have to leave the flat. It is common for the police only to come to the door of a refused asylum seeker at the request of the landlord after the family have refused to leave their accommodation.

So far, the YMCA who were landlords for the three are refusing to comment to the media. (The YMCA has a highly profitable contract with the UK Borders Agency to house asylum seekers in the Red Road flats, which are some of Glasgow 's worst housing stock).

It is difficult to understand why it has taken the police more than 24 hours to identify the three people as all asylum seekers are repeatedly asked to give their finger-prints by the Home Office and their landlords, the YMCA, should be able to tell the police who was living in the flat at the time.

At the moment, the Home Office are saying they are not prepared to comment, however it has been known for asylum seekers to be so desperate that they jump from their windows if they think they are about be detained in a dawn raid by the Home Office's Enforcement Team. Neighbours have said that they thought the Home Office had been banging on the door on Sunday morning when the family jumped.

Every-day, Positive Action in Housing's staff are confronted with the reality of asylum seekers coming into the office crying or upset because they have just been told they must leave the country. Then their money and housing is stopped a week later. We run a hardship fund and give out small amounts of cash for food and arrange free shelter in the homes of our volunteers. There is a great deal of mental strain and it is normal currency for people to talk about ending their lives as a viable alternative to destitution or removal.

After years of waiting on a decision, and putting your life and the lives of your family on hold, it's a big shock to be systematically stripped of each and every one of your basic human rights of food, shelter and work by the asylum system, and then face the daily terror of destitution or possible removal in the early hours. Then it's easy to see why someone would consider suicide preferable to returning to an unsafe country.

We believe there should be a public inquiry into these deaths, and the impact of the UK Borders Agency and their terror campaign - disguised as asylum policy - on the lives of asylum seekers who have lived here for years but live in permanent fear of destitution, detention and removal. Many asylum seekers flee persecution or death, only to be terrorised by the prospect of removal back to an unsafe country, and in the process face destitution or long term detention. The current asylum system is based on the false premise that all asylum seekers are bogus. We need a complete rethink.

PLEASE, PLEASE ACT NOW

This case, and many others, raise serious questions about the way the UK asylum system operates in this country. Members of the public have a right to know if we have a fair asylum system, or one which terrorises vulnerable people to the point they would take their own lives. Please demand the following questions are answered and write to your MSP, MP, the First Minister, the Scottish Secretary and the home Secretary:

Please copy your correspondence to home@paih.org. Email addresses are at the end of this email.

1. Who were the family and what was their background in the UK ?

2. Demand a public enquiry into the suicides and in particular the details of all communications the UK Borders Agency had with the family.

3. What communications did the YMCA and Strathclyde Police have with the family?

4. We want to know the Home Office arrangements for the deceased. Have the relatives of the deceased been informed? What plans does the UKBA have to remove their bodies to their countries of origin? (We know of cases where the bodies of dead asylum seekers have been left unclaimed in mortuaries for years, this charity has had to step in to raise funds for the return of the dead to their families for a proper burial).

5. Neighbours have stated that on Saturday evening, a few hours before the suicide, the family were seen taking bags out of the flat. We believe they were planning to escape removal, not commit suicide, and that happened on the Sunday morning which drove them to make the decision to build a pyre of furniture on the veranda and throw themselves from their fifteenth floor. We want to know if the Home Office Removal vans were in the vicinity. We want to know if UK Borders Agency removal officials were in the vicinity of 63 Petershill Drive . Were they, as has been suggested, knocking at the door of the suicide victims at 63 Petershill Drive, Springburn on Sunday morning with a view to removing the family?

6. Why are innocent children still being locked up like criminals in Scotland ? Many asylum seekers who report weekly to Brand Street reporting centre don't know if this or the next week they will simply not be allowed to leave. Only on Friday, Stephanie Ovrawah went to pick up her twin six year old sons, Joshua and Joel, from Cranhill Primary School in Glasgow before going to "sign" at Brand Street Reporting Centre. The family have been Glasgow residents since the children were babies. They were immediately detained with the children still in their school uniforms, no goodbyes to their neighbours or school friends, no chance to pick up their belongings from home; they were just taken to Dungavel Removal Centre and then to Yarls Wood Removal centre, where they currently await their fate. Joshua (6) said today, "I miss my friend Taylor. I miss Mrs O'Brien and Mr Downs. They are our teachers. They said they are sending us back. I don't know this Africa ... My mum says we didn't do anything wrong. They shout at us and a guard hit my brother. We want to leave, this is a prison and a dump… I want to go back to school tomorrow and see my friends Taylor, Rhys and Keegan. "

7. We want questions raised in the Scottish parliament asto why the barbarism of the UK asylum system is allowed to operate on Scottish soil. What is the Scottish Government going to do to put a stop to this once and for all?

Please write to the following people to demand answers about this case and the way the asylum system operates. Please copy your correspondence to home@paih.org

Write to your MSP, MP and MEP. To find out who your local representative is, just enter your postcode in http://www.writetothem.com/ and email them from the website.

Write to:

Alex Salmond, First Minister at FirstMinister@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Jim Murphy , Scotland Secretary at jimmurphymp@parliament.uk
Alan Johnson, Home Secretary at johnsona@parliament.uk
Or: public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Privateoffice.external@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
UKBApublicenquiries@UKBA.gsi.gov.uk

Notes
Positive Action in Housing Ltd is a Scottish wide charity working with communities, housing providers, voluntary organisations and faith groups to enable everyone to have an equal chance to live in good quality, affordable and safe homes, free from discrimination and the fear of racial harassment and violence. We offer advice, information and support to people from new migrant, refugee and minority ethnic communities. We run a free, confidential and impartial casework service for those facing poverty, homelessness, racism or poor housing. We run a Hardship Fund and provide emergency shelter and practical resources for destitute asylum seekers and their families. We provide volunteering and sessional work opportunities. We support human rights and anti-racist campaigns. We inform social policy from a user-led perspective
As a charity, Positive Action in Housing depends on donations. Please help us by making a single or monthly donation. Alternatively, donate online via your internet banking, through PayPal, or make a donation quickly, easily and securely online now via JustGiving.
The flats at Petershill Drive are run by the YMCA under a contract with the UKBA. It is not known exactly how much money the YMCA makes per asylum seeker from that contract.
Hundreds of refused asylum seekers in Glasgow rely on Positive Action in Housing when they are forced into destitution because of the UK government's insistence that they return to unsafe countries. Through our destitution project, Lifeline, our caseworkers arrange for destitute clients to stay in the homes of our volunteers, and arrange practical support such as clothes, sleeping bags, food, shelter and befriending, as well as access to legal and housing support. We have a database of volunteers who provide free shelter in their homes. We rely on donations to pay towards the hardship fund.
We provide a Hardship Fund which gives out small sums of cash for food and hostel accommodation (£1500 per month). In 2009, we gave out over 700 destitution payments totalling £18,020 to prevent people going hungry or becoming street homeless.
In 2009, we assisted 975 households. Out of this, 276 were destitute asylum seekers. This represents a 25% increase since 2008. We provided 1,368 nights of shelter through hostels (554 nights) and volunteers (814 nights). 128 people (55%) were in the process of lodging a fresh claim or a judicial review when they were made destitute. We assisted destitute asylum seekers from 44 countries including the following: Iran (15%), Iraq (14%), Somalia ( 9%), Zimbabwe (8%), China (8%), Dem Rep of Congo (7%) and Sudan (5%)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8554849.stm

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/three-leap-to-death-in-high-rise-suicide-pact-1.1011712

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8555763.stm
Background to story can be found at the link below: http://news.google.co.uk/news/search?um=1&cf=all&ned=uk&hl=en&q=%22red+road&cf=all&scoring=n

Cloned?

If Mossad is responsible for the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, how did they acquire the details of the people whose passports were cloned? I got thinking about this today, when I remembered my visit to Israel in the summer of 2008. Going through immigration at Tel Aviv airport, I was made to wait in a room for almost an hour, during which time my passport was kept by the powers-that-be. It was a little bit concerning and no explanation was given when my passport was returned. Certainly there was plenty of time to get up to some mischief with it.

Hopefully, I won't be implicated in another plot at some point. Then again, mentioning this incident might make me a target for retaliation by spooks?;-)

Joy & Prayers

Much joy tonight for Joyce at a little get together to celebrate her being granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK. It only took ten years. Praying for others I know (and those I don't) who are still in the midst of the immigration process.

Prayers for Kenny and RW following the freezing damage to the new rectory.

Joy that people are still being dug out of the ruins in Haiti. Praying that medicine and food will reach people quicker than it has done. Prayer too for all those in situ who are trying to bring aid.

Where No Flowers Grow

At Sunday morning's "Together", we were thinking about how we take care of the earth. I got to beat Nick Cox up (in my dreams!) as an example of how the effects of our sin can be obvious. In response to the question (about not seeing the damage we do), "Where does our rubbish go?", Hannah replied, "It's taken to a big hole in the ground, then covered in soil, and no flowers will grow there." We couldn't have planned a better answer or expect greater knowledge from one of our younger members. It was an awesome moment.

Vestry agreed with the suggestion that our collections should go to the Haitian Earthquake relief efforts. Over £1500 was given. It seems that we are joining with the whole nation in responding to the Haitians' plight. Many of us are also shocked by some Christians decidely odd explanation of this disaster. I wonder how those in Haiti, including very many Christians, who have lost loved ones and are suffering, receive such comments?

The Mixed Week

An interesting week ahead, with three days in a monastery, a national prayer conference on Thursday organised by Evangelical Alliance, the electoral synod on Saturday morning and the institution of the new rector of Bearsden and Milngavie on Saturday afternoon. Yes, I know, I'm a mystery wrapped up in a conundrum, or somesuch.

Prayers For the Episcopal Church In Sudan

Tuesday, 1st September 2009 Juba, Sudan

APPEAL regarding the recent atrocities in Jonglei and Western Equatoria States

On Saturday 29th August 2009 I received reports from Wernyol, Twic East County, Jonglei State, that there had been another attack on the peoples of the area in which over forty people – men, women and children – were killed. Amongst the dead were Ven. Joseph Mabior Garang, Archdeacon of Wernyol and Archbishop’s Commissary in the new Diocese of Twic East, who was shot at the altar of the church in Wernyol during a service of Morning Prayer. Tens of others have been wounded, some very seriously with gun-shot wounds and broken limbs. Only a few of these have been taken to Juba Military Hospital, whilst the rest are still in Bor Hospital.

I have leant from Episcopal Church sources on the ground that the attackers were well armed with new automatic weapons, dressed in army uniforms, and appeared well-organized and properly trained. Instead of attacking a cattle camp, this was an attack on a Payam headquarter town. Consequently in the view of the Church, this was not a tribal conflict as commonly reported, but a deliberately organized attack on civilians by those that are against the peace in Southern Sudan. These reports confirm the suspicions that I aired in my May 2009 appeal to the diplomatic and international community in Sudan.

Last week I received the news from Ezo, Ezo County, Western Equatoria State, that there had been another devastating attack by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) on Ezo town on 12th/13th August in which three people, including an Episcopal Church lay reader had been murdered.
The attack included the abduction of children from the Episcopal church building in Ezo, and several thousand more people have been displaced into Ezo town – people that the local churches are struggling to care for. Ezo Hospital was also attacked, medicine stolen and equipment destroyed.

I hear from Bishop John Zawo of the Episcopal Diocese of Ezo that the attack could have been avoided if better military security had been given to the town.

I am therefore appealing to the government and the international community at large to act swiftly in order to prevent such atrocities from occurring in future. Continuing violence such as this is not only a crime against the innocent people killed and injured, it is a crime against the peace of the Sudan and if left unchecked will do great damage to the smooth implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)

This is especially the case given the strained political situation whereby the two parties to the CPA – the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) – are still not coming to an agreement regarding the laws governing the elections and referendum. The time frame given for the elections and referendum is already too short for the democratic processes to be effectively organized, and by the provisional dates chosen for voting in the elections, much of the South will already be suffering from logistics problems caused by the onset of the wet season.

This is an indication to the citizens of the Sudan that the people on the ground are not being regarded or included in the politics of peace and that we are vulnerable to future violations of the CPA and an uncertain future for peace in the Sudan.

I refer the government and international community to my May 2009 appeal to the diplomatic community in Sudan, and now strongly reiterate my plea to urge your countries’ governments to do more to guarantee the implementation of the CPA at all levels. As shown from the Twic East example, there is now accurate evidence to suggest that such violence is deliberately perpetrated as I implied in the May appeal. So long as all violence such as that in Jonglei and that perpetrated by the LRA continues – violence which is preventable by better use of security personnel – there is no hope of conducting free and fair elections in these areas in 2010 and no hope of a fair referendum on Southern secession in 2011.

In the mean time I am appealing for humanitarian assistance to those 24,000 displaced and wounded people in Twic East County and those 15,000 displaced and wounded people Ezo County. I would like to especially appeal for help for the widow and children of Ven. Joseph Mabior Garang, who now require food and education.

Unless the guarantor governments of the CPA act now the peace is in grave danger. As the Church, we look for the upholding of the rights of every Sudanese to a peaceful future.

His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul Yak

Archbishop and Primate of the Province of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan

Funds for the 39,000 displaced persons and the bereaved family of Archdeacon Garang may be sent to Anglican Mainstream (for AID – Sudan) 21 High Street, Eynsham, OX29 4HE UK or donated through the paypal link on the Anglican Mainstream website. All funds will be sent directly through with no deductions.

Further information and pictures will appear on www.sudan.anglican.org

Merciful

Ten years ago, in South Africa, I met people who had learned to forgive those who had wronged them. I was somewhat stunned by their ability to offer mercy; the couple whose children had been gunned down for the meagre contents of their schoolbags and the family whose father had been tortured and crippled by the police. They came to mind in the last week as I considered Kenny MacAskill's decision to release Abdelbaset Ali Mohammed al-Megrahi.

Whether he is guilty or not, whether he has expressed remorse or not, he can still be shown compassion as he prepares for death. Such mercy is on offer to us all: "he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities" (Psalm 103:10). I don't think MacAskill was suggesting that the terminal cancer Megrahi is suffering is God's judgement. Rather that he will soon meet his maker, and the final judgement on him will be made. That is an inescapable judgement which will be more difficult to receive than any human justice. Maybe Megrahi, in his last days will be able to accept the peace of God, given to him through the blood of Jesus Christ?

I was very moved by the Justice Minister's statement. I'm only disappointed that Megahi's appeal will not now be heard. We might have learned more of the events that led up to that terrible night over Lockerbie.

Nigeria - Christians lament a lack of international concern over Boko Haram bloodshed

From Christian Solidarity Worldwide:

Christians in the northern Nigerian city of Maiduguri are expressing increasing dismay at what they perceive as a lack of international concern for the suffering of their communities.  As funerals continue, local estimates of the death toll rise to over 1000.

During last week’s violence, Islamist Boko Haram militants attacked both government and Christian targets, killing individuals and taking many civilians captive for possible use as human shields against government forces besieging their compound in Maiduguri’s Railway District. Once in the camp, male captives were given a choice between conversion to Islam or death, while women and girls were kept on as hostages. Survivors of the siege informed CSW sources that the Boko Haram leader, Yusuf Mohammed, personally oversaw the forcible Islamisation of hostages, and the execution of anyone who refused to convert.

Yesterday, Maiduguri’s Good News Church held a memorial service for one of these hostages. Pastor George Orji was beheaded in the Boko Haram compound, and his body left in a mass grave there.  He leaves behind a heavily pregnant wife, and two children aged two and four.

On 4 August around 3000 people took part in the funeral service for Rev Sabo Yakubu, the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) church pastor whose heart was removed from his body by Boko Haram militants. Three other Christians whose charred remains were found in the ruins of Jajere National Evangelical Mission were also buried on that day. One of the bodies is thought to be that of Pastor Elijah Samuel, who was hacked to death by militants.

Over 800 people are now officially estimated to have died in last week’s violence. This number is likely to rise as many missing civilians are now presumed dead and possibly buried in mass graves dug by the authorities in a bid to avert the spread of disease. Earlier CSW was informed that a University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) worker had estimated that around 1000 corpses were deposited in the hospital mortuary on Monday 27 July alone. The number of people displaced during the violence also remains unclear, but is thought to be in the thousands.

CSW sources also report that a total of 20 churches were destroyed during the violence.  In February 2006 Maiduguri was the scene of the infamous "Cartoon Riots" during which 57 churches were destroyed and over 60 Christians were killed. Surviving victims of that violence have still not received compensation.

Archbishop of Jos, Benjamin Kwashi said: "It is unfortunate that the mayhem unleashed on the Church is systematically downplayed in the media. The first victim was the ecclesia, which was subjugated and sacrificed prior to any attack on the establishment, yet no report is pointing to Christians as the number one target before all others. We will continue to speak out."

There are growing concerns that the furore surrounding the death of the Boko Haram leader may be obscuring the suffering inflicted by the sect on northern civilians, and may eventually raise him to iconic status. Yusuf Mohamed was reportedly killed in questionable circumstances on July 30 while in police custody. Local sources report that pictures purportedly of his bullet-riddled corpse show one of his arms was practically amputated by gunshots.

Tina Lambert, CSW’s Advocacy Director said: “We are disturbed by indications that the Boko Haram leader may have been killed extra-judicially. A full investigation into this claim is needed but it is vital that this does not  inadvertently obscure or detract from the appalling nature of the crimes committed by this sect against innocent civilians.  There is an urgent need to assist and compensate the deeply traumatised victims, and for action to ensure a definitive end to the cycle of deadly religious violence in Northern and central Nigeria”.

For some important background information, see this Reuters analysis.