Lem Lem Hussein Abdu, a sixty year old Eritrean woman who has lived in Sheffield since 2007, is threathened with deportation to Ethiopia on Wednesday 21st July. Lem Lem fled Eritrea in 1978; her entire family was killed when Ethiopian forces burned down her village.
She has been refused asylum ever since and is supported by ASSIST. She is currently being held at Yarls Wood Immigration Removal Centre in Bedfordshire.
Please help to stop her deportation on Weds 21st July, Flight BD913 (BMI airlines) from Heathrow to Addis Ababa at 13.50 hours.
Legal avenues are pretty much exhausted but Home Sec does have power to intervene. Compassionate grounds are very strong, but we need strong representations.
Protest tomorrow – Tues 20th July; 3pm – 5pm; Sheffield choirs will sing at 4pm. Outside UK Borders Agency, Vulcan House, Millsands, S3 8DT just along from Lady’s Bridge on the river, over the road from Howells Solicitors.
Online petition http://www.gopetition.co.uk/petition/37793.html
Facebook group: HERE
YouTube: HERE
Contact BMI: 0844 8484 888 or customer relations HERE
Email / fax Theresa May – text below.
Contact Meg Munn MP – Lemlem has been living in her constituency. [email protected]
Please forward this widely.
Below is a model letter giving more background to Lem Lem’s case and which can be emailed / faxed to Theresa May, Home Secretary. The Sheffield CDAS website also has an online petition you can sign, or petitions you can download and print. Theresa May can also be emailed at [email protected]
Thanks for your help.
ChileSCDA
.
Rt. Hon Theresa May, MP
Secretary of State for the Home Office,
2 Marsham St London SW1 4DF
Fax: 020 8760 3132
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RE Lemlem Hussein Abdu, HO ref number: A1357578
.
Dear Ms. May
I am writing to ask you to halt the deportation of Lemlem Hussein Abdu, a 60 year old Eritrean woman, and to grant her indefinite leave to remain in the UK. Lemlem is currently being detained at Yarl’s Wood and her flight is booked for Wednesday 21 July.
Here is a brief outline of her story. Lemlem was born in what is now Eritrea. Her whole family was murdered by Ethiopian forces due to their support for a group called the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) in 1978, but she was one of the few in her village who managed to escape. She fled to Sudan and then Saudi Arabia where she worked as a nanny/household helper for a Saudi family. Lemlem suffered an accident in 2000, which left her with difficulty walking and meant she could not carry out some tasks. The family she worked for stopped paying her wages, and then some years later (on a trip to the UK) they abandoned her alone in London with no money and no identification.
Lemlem is unable to return to Eritrea due to her affiliation with the ELF, which is persecuted by the government there. She has sought asylum in the UK but has been refused. It should be noted that the United Nations has called on all countries to cease returns to Eritrea due to severe human rights abuses. Human Rights Watch also observes that Eritreans who have tried to flee the country “risk severe punishments” if returned (http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/04/16/eritrea-repression-creating-human-rights-crisis).
Despite the tragic events of her life so far and her uncertain and seemingly hopeless situation, Lemlem has thrown herself into her life in Sheffield, and due to her enthusiasm to master English and her friendly, warm and caring attitude she has won many friends. She is an inspiration to all of us who know her.
The Home Office is planning to deport Lemlem to Ethiopia. This is despite the fact that she has never lived in Ethiopia and has no contacts there. Her age and disability (a very bad limp and eyesight problems) mean that she would be unable to obtain work and support herself in a new country. She would have no means of earning a living and no support whatsoever in Ethiopia where the main language spoken is not her first language. Lemlem is furthermore a member of the ELF, which Ethiopia has waged war against.
I would urge you to look again at Lemlem’s case with the utmost urgency.
I look forward to your reply
Yours sincerely
Name: Address:
Date:
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