David Cameron
10 Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AA
Re: UK Government policy of unaccompanied Afghani children deportation
David Cameron
10 Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AA
Re: UK Government policy of unaccompanied Afghani children deportation
Dear Prime Minister
First of all, I congratulate you on becoming the Prime Minister of this great country called the United Kingdom. Your election campaign and statesmanship was so appealing that common man became part of your election campaign. I had always been a Labour supporter, but you changed my mind too. You gave an opportunity to a young Asian lady to become the Chairman of Conservative Party. You called for fairness and justice and diversity in your election campaign and you proved that too. You also proved that how best we can work with those whose political philosophies differs from ours, and I applaud you for that- your principles and philosophy of co-existence.
But Prime Minster, here today, I would like to divert you attention to your Government move of setting up a £4m "reintegration centre" in Kabul with the idea that it can start deporting unaccompanied child asylum seekers to Kabul from Britain.
The terms of the official tender for the centre show that immigration officials initially hope to forcibly return 12 boys a month aged under 18 to Afghanistan and provide "reintegration assistance" for 120 adults a month. I know that your Government’s decision is influenced by the EU plan to open a reception centre in Kabul that can provide care for minors when their families cannot be found. But my argument is if that will be the solution to the problem or a problem in itself?
Mr Prime Minister, I am a social worker myself and that too from a Pashtun/ Afghan ethnic background and I know that the decision will put a big risk to these young children' lives in Afghanistan. I have been working with these children since last year and my experience of working with these children has taught me that how ambitious they are now about their future than ever before when they were in Afghanistan.
Every day, Mr Prime Minister, due to uncertain, unsafe and dangerous situations in Afghanistan, families are torn apart in their escape from war, persecution, they end up in different parts of the world, scared, alienated and unaccompanied. Parents are parted, siblings are parted, parents and children are parted. Decades of war have left thousands of these Afghani children orphaned in Afghanistan. Leaving behind a traumatic past, these children start up their journeys to flee from conflict zone for a better future.
Mr Prime Minister, in the face of global economic crisis, I understand that it is not entirely easy to locate these children in the UK, but it is not overwhelmingly difficult either- all they need is love, security and care. Can we provide them all this in Afghanistan? My answer based on the current politically turbulent situations in Afghanistan is no, and who knows this better than you, Mr Prime Minister. What are the choices for these children if sent back other than getting married at young age burdened with a big family or die young in a war torn country or else become so reactive towards EU policy that turn them into your enemies. My point here is to give them a chance in the UK, to learn and grow and develop and then empower them through education so that tomorrow when they go back to Afghanistan, they sit with you on the political table to discuss their country’s future and not hard line Mullas, greedy war lords or drug traffickers or corrupt politicians.
Mr Prime Minister, Brussels workshop that called for an "EU-wide presumption" that a child's best interest was to return to their country of birth is not the best interest of an unaccompanied child. We have Children Act of 1989, which clearly says, that the interest of the child is paramount and if there is a conflict of interest between the interest of the child and those of adults/ carers/guardian then it is the interests of the child which is paramount. In my professional opinion as a social worker, EU governments need to make sure that it is in the children's best interests before deporting these children to a war torn, unsafe and uncertain country as Afghanistan and your Government should lead from the front.
As a Qualified social worker, working with unaccompanied minors and their foster carers in London, I feel that the LibCons Government's decision with regards to unaccompanied children' deportation is not only unwise but extremely risky and dangerous in light of child protection safeguarding issues. I have felt that these children' voice should be raised appropriately. I am receiving phone calls from these children, worried, deeply anxious and traumatised with the likely consequences of their deportation to Afghanistan. The policy makers or practitioners might not be aware of the current situations in Afghanistan but I, as an ethnic Afghani and a professional social worker feel and strongly believe that sending these children back to Afghanistan will bear serious results for these children.
Prime Minister, I hope you will re- consider your Government plan and will also influence EU plan for the best interest of these unaccompanied Afghani children.
Warm regards
Farid Gul, London
( June 10, 2010 )
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