Azim Ansari is an Afghan refugee studying at St Johns. The Home Office is trying to deport him and his brother back to Afghanistan, claiming it is now safe for them to return.
They want to stay here, to work and build a secure life for themselves. They fear further persecution in Afghanistan and since the disappearance of their family they have nobody and nothing to go back to.
More details of their case here:
http://www.ncadc.org.uk/archives/filed%20newszines/newszine50/waliazim.html
They want to stay here, to work and build a secure life for themselves. They fear further persecution in Afghanistan and since the disappearance of their family they have nobody and nothing to go back to.
More details of their case here:
http://www.ncadc.org.uk/archives/filed%20newszines/newszine50/waliazim.html
What can I do?
--------------
1. Write a letter asking that they be allowed to stay:
Des Browne
Minister for Immigration
Home Office
50 Queen Anne's Gate
London SW1H 9AT
2. If you're a OU student, propose/second a JCR/MCR motion in support of Azim in your college. Text below or do your own.
3. Join the campaign email list and get involved:
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/ou_wali_azim/
4. Print off a petition and gather signatures. A general petition is
on their website and the text of an oxford specific one is in the
archives of the email list (url in no 3).
Cheers :)
Owen
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This MCR notes:
- The case of Azim Ansari, an undergraduate at St Johns College, who
claimed asylum in the UK in 2001 and was granted exceptional leave to remain in July 2002.
- The fact that, despite having gained admission to St Johns College in 2004, the Home Office is refusing to extend this exceptional leave to remain. They claim that Afghanistan is now a safe country.
- The fact that tens of thousands of the ethnic group to which Azim
belongs have been slaughtered in the last decade in Afghanistan.
- The fact that Medecins San Frontiers, known for working in some of
the most dangerous countries in the world, have pulled their entire medical staff out from Afghanistan. They had previously been working in the country for 24 years without a break.
- That Azim and his brother have nothing and nobody to return to in
Afghanistan, and that returning would destroy Azim's hopes for an
Oxford degree.
This MCR believes:
- That Azim Ansari is a valued part of the Oxford community, and that
he would be far better able to contribute to the rebuilding of Afghanistan once he has gained an engineering degree from Oxford.
- That the definition of Afghanistan as a 'safe country' is, at best,
dubious.
- That people applying for asylum should be treated with compassion as human beings, and not as numbers in a quota.
- That Azim Ansari and his brother, Wali, should be allowed to stay in the UK to pursue their studies.
This MCR resolves:
- To mandate the JCR President to write to Des Browne, the Immigration Minister, asking him to allow Azim and his brother to stay in the UK, and expressing the JCR's support for him in his case.
- To write to both of Oxford's MPs, asking them to arrange to meet with Azim, and requesting that they take up his case with the Home Office.
************************************************************
--------------
1. Write a letter asking that they be allowed to stay:
Des Browne
Minister for Immigration
Home Office
50 Queen Anne's Gate
London SW1H 9AT
2. If you're a OU student, propose/second a JCR/MCR motion in support of Azim in your college. Text below or do your own.
3. Join the campaign email list and get involved:
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/ou_wali_azim/ 4. Print off a petition and gather signatures. A general petition is
on their website and the text of an oxford specific one is in the
archives of the email list (url in no 3).
Cheers :)
Owen
************************************************************
This MCR notes:
- The case of Azim Ansari, an undergraduate at St Johns College, who
claimed asylum in the UK in 2001 and was granted exceptional leave to remain in July 2002.
- The fact that, despite having gained admission to St Johns College in 2004, the Home Office is refusing to extend this exceptional leave to remain. They claim that Afghanistan is now a safe country.
- The fact that tens of thousands of the ethnic group to which Azim
belongs have been slaughtered in the last decade in Afghanistan.
- The fact that Medecins San Frontiers, known for working in some of
the most dangerous countries in the world, have pulled their entire medical staff out from Afghanistan. They had previously been working in the country for 24 years without a break.
- That Azim and his brother have nothing and nobody to return to in
Afghanistan, and that returning would destroy Azim's hopes for an
Oxford degree.
This MCR believes:
- That Azim Ansari is a valued part of the Oxford community, and that
he would be far better able to contribute to the rebuilding of Afghanistan once he has gained an engineering degree from Oxford.
- That the definition of Afghanistan as a 'safe country' is, at best,
dubious.
- That people applying for asylum should be treated with compassion as human beings, and not as numbers in a quota.
- That Azim Ansari and his brother, Wali, should be allowed to stay in the UK to pursue their studies.
This MCR resolves:
- To mandate the JCR President to write to Des Browne, the Immigration Minister, asking him to allow Azim and his brother to stay in the UK, and expressing the JCR's support for him in his case.
- To write to both of Oxford's MPs, asking them to arrange to meet with Azim, and requesting that they take up his case with the Home Office.
************************************************************
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